Pierce My Silence
by Bomani Akila Neteru
Summary: Silence had never been a problem. It whispered secrets and wrapped the ones in it in a cloak of security. So why did I want him to tear it? Mute!OC/Ratchet
1. Arrival

Laughter filled the plane as camo wearing, gun-toting, soldiers joked with one another. Three males and a female spoke in jovial, joking tones. The fifth soldier, a female field medic, leaned back against her seat silently. Her standard rifle sat comfortably in her slim and pale, yet calloused and strong hands. "Yo! Newbie! You gonna be silent the whole way?" One of the males grinned at her, one of his hands coming up to brush an annoying strand of loose red hair back away from his face.

"..." Large, dark brown eyes met his own blue ones as they peeked up from under the old soldier hat that looked like it had been through World War Two. It was a faded green color, and the strap was rather loose under her chin. Spiky strands of brown hair poked out from under the helmet. "Uh, John?" The other female, straight up soldier and not field medic, spoke to 'John', the one who had questioned her. "Yeah Tammy?" The blue eyed, red haired man grinned at her. Tammy grinned snarkily, "She's mute, dumbass." John flushed red in embarrassment and the others laughed at his mistake.

The mute field medic didn't react, her eyes moving back to the window of the plane, hat falling back down over upper face. She mentally scowled at it, but left it as it was. "So… what's her name?" The mute gripped her gun just a little bit tighter. The assholes were talking about her as if she wasn't even there. It really pissed her off. "Bobbi Bellmark. At least, that's what her file said." Another soldier commented offhandedly. Bobbi pressed her lips together tightly, making them turn white. Really? What asses. They couldn't even ask her for her name. Bobbi sighed through her nose and relaxed her body forcefully.

The mute mused to herself thoughtfully as she tuned the others out. She didn't even know the names of this ragtag group, besides John and Tammy, which she had just learned. It was tradition in her family to join the military. So when Bobbi had hit twenty one, she had joined. She had spent a good five years working her way through the ranks until she had at least a decent paycheck, especially after being deployed twice. This would be her third time. Sighing, Bobbi raised her brown eyes and scanned them over her new squad, her lips tugging into a frown. They seemed incompetent, loud, and in general, like a bunch of goofballs. Her nose crinkled in irritation at the thought.

They really expected her to work with these idiots? What were the big wigs thinking, sticking her in a group like this? Bobbi rolled her eyes from behind her helmet. Ah well, she could work with what she had, she supposed. "This is the captain speaking, everyone please brace yourselves, we will be landing momentarily." Bobbi sighed through her nose in relief. Finally she would be landing after this seventeen hour flight of pure hell. Clenching her jaw she shifted her body slightly to stretch some of her back and leg muscles. A new base, huh? Bobbi mused to herself, it should prove interesting, especially since they had all been given a raise to 'keep their mouths shut'. The woman quirked a smile at that.

The plane touched down with a solid bounce, and slowly came to a stop. In a seamless routine, the squad unharnessed themselves from the wall of the plane, and moved out and down the ramp. They stopped once they were a safe distance from the plane, allowing it to close the hatch and slowly turn around and roll to one of the hangers. Bobbi wondered if they would let her learn to pilot- and quickly dismissed the idea. They wouldn't. Not with her being mute. A familiar pang of agony flared up in her gut, but she pushed it away stubbornly. She could do other things, she didn't need to pilot.

"Atten-hut!" A stern voice cut through the air, and the entire squad whipped around to face the voice and snapped to attention. Six men walked over from where they had been waiting by a large metal building. Bobbi observed them from under her helmet with interest. One was of African-American descent with a clean shaved head, his uniform only slightly different than her own. Maybe it was because he wasn't carrying as much stuff as she was? Bobbi brushed it off. The second was tanned, with short brown hair and stern yet kind eyes. He was in the same uniform as the first, and was taller. The others were… different. The third was taller than all the others, with black neatly kempt hair that shone blue when the sun hit it just right. He carried himself with an air of a respected leader.

He wore the same uniform, but with a strange red symbol sewn onto the breast pocket, and on the pockets of the rest besides the first two men. What really caught Bobbi's attention, however, was the electric blue eyes he and the other three had that nearly pierced through her. Maybe they were related? As they came to a stop in front of them, her eyes drifted to the others from under her helm. The fourth came up to the tallest one's shoulder, had black hair with a military buzz cut, and a scar over one of his eyes. He look strong, stern, and mean. Bobbi's eyes narrowed. She wouldn't let him stomp all over her, or push her around, she deserved some respect, dammit.

The fifth was a medic. She could tell just by the way he walked and seemed to check for injuries every five minutes. He was the same height as the mean one, with white hair pulled back into a ponytail that was streaked with red and spiky at the front bangs that framed his face. Bobbi's suspicions were affirmed when she noted that he wore a white lab coat with a medical cross on the shoulders, black slacks, boots, and a white button up shirt. Bobbi could already see the impending check up for them all.

The last had a visor on that was as electric blue as the others, and black hair in dreads. He was of African-American descent and was the shortest of them. He walked with a relaxed gait and a cocky yet laid back smile and wore a white tank top, plain blue jeans, and a pair of black military boots. Bobbi was brought from her observations by the second one speaking, "Welcome to N.E.S.T. You are our new squad, right? I'm Lennox, what are your names, soldiers?" The voice was stern yet kind and welcoming. Bobbi decided she rather liked this 'Lennox', her new superior. One by one, her fellows began telling him their names.

"Tammy Edgehart, sir!"

"John Kinders!"

"Larry Ellis, sir!"

"Evan Smith, Lennox sir."

Bobbi scowled internally but showed nothing outside. Lennox raised an eyebrow at her, and she could feel his fellows watching her as well as she stared ahead. "Soldier, what is your name?" Lennox questioned again, "Mehbeh th' cat's got 'er tongue!" The short one joked with a grin, his dreads swaying. "Sir, if I may?" Tammy questioned hesitantly and Lennox nodded, "Bobbi Bellmark is mute, sir. She can't answer." Lennox had the decency to look embarrassed. It looked like he hadn't taken the time to read their files thoroughly enough. "I'm sorry, Bobbi." The woman couldn't help it, her head snapped towards him and her helmet rocked backwards with the motion, getting caught on the back of her head and showing a pair of wide, surprised brown eyes. No one had apologized before.

Hesitantly, looking at her new superior, Lennox, she nodded. He seemed to understand that she had forgiven him, and continued on. "This is Epps," He nodded to the first African-American, who smiled in greeting, "Optimus Prime," Lennox nodded in respect to the quiet giant, who inclined his head in turn, "Ironhide, Ratchet and Jazz." They all seemed to be observing them calmly, as if trying to judge if they were trustful or not. "Here, we're all family and comrades. We work together and help one another. Training begins tomorrow at 0600 in the main hanger. Jazz will show you around and then to the med bay for your check ups with Ratchet." Lennox instructed them sternly.

Everything was different here, not as strict and stern as at her previous bases, but Bobbi brushed it off. "With all due respect sir, we've had check ups for this month already." Even, a brown haired hazel eyed man sounded confused. Bobbi reached up with one hand and fixed her helmet, obscuring her eyes once again. She grumbled internally at the fact that she was the only one with a helmet. "Well, you'll be getting your check ups again." Ratchet's voice was cool and even, if stern and gruff. Ironhide smirked at something. Bobbi mused on the fact that their names were strange as hell, but she supposed it was probably code names or something of the like. The men turned and moved back towards the base.

Confused, yet obedient, the squad followed them. As soon as they entered, the men dispersed, leaving the squad with Jazz. "This is da' main hanger." His accent was that of a gangster, yet it was strangely pleasant to listen to. He gestured around the room, which was filled with different cars. A large semi with a flame paint job, a white and red ambulance, a red and black corvette, a silver porsche, an ice cream truck, a blue volt, and a large black GMC Topkick. Not that Bobbi could name them all. She only knew a couple. Before anyone could comment, the weird man known as Jazz began to bounce away.

"Come on!" At his command, the squad moved after him. He showed them the mess hall, the training areas, and to their rooms, where he made them drop their stuff off. Bobbi found her hands felt very empty without her gun. Then they headed to the med bay. Nobody commented on how huge the doors seemed, or rather, John commented, but didn't receive an answer. Jazz was good at deflecting any and all questions. "Nah list'n close." The visor wearing man warned, and the squad leaned in slightly to hear as they walked, "Don' anger da' Hatchet. Jus' do wh't 'e says an' get outta there. 'Kay?" The squad looked confused but nodded. Bobbi simply looked around with little interest.

She was here to do her job. Shoot the enemy and patch her team mates up on the field. Nothing more, nothing less. Doing anything more would only get her into trouble. Finally, they stopped in front of a large pair of doors. Jazz hesitated a moment before opening said doors and walking in. The squad followed cautiously, unsure of what to expect. Bobbi linked her hands behind her back and stepped after Jazz first, leaving her squad to follow. She was here to do her job, and her team was not going to slow her down. In any way, shape or form.

The room itself was large, with huge metal beds on one side, and a bunch of the normal medical beds and supplies on the other. "What the hell…?" John trailed off as he looked up at the huge tables, Evan pushed his glasses up as his green eyes gazed around in awe. Larry raised an eyebrow, reaching up and tugging on Evan's black hair, "This is gettin' kinda weird, huh four eyes?" The man scowled in reply, green eyes turning sharp. Larry shrugged and crossed his arms, gray eyes flicking over the room before he quickly brought up a hand to brush back his blonde hair from his face.

Bobbi ignored them all and continued to follow Jazz, her hands connected at her lower back. She heard them quicken their steps to catch up. The medic from before walked from behind an ambulance parked off to the side. "Oh good, you've arrived." He groused. Bobbi tilted her head at the ambulance. Wasn't that the same one from before? Back in the main hanger? She shook it off and turned back to Ratchet. "Well, Ah leave 'em in yer hands doc'." Jazz grinned, "See ya'!" He was gone before another word could be said, practically bolting out the door. Bobbi stared at the door quiet for a moment.

Then she looked back at Ratchet. "Alright, all of you line up." The doctor grumbled gruffly. Sensing this one wasn't to be crossed, Bobbi's squad snapped to attention behind her. The brunette raised an eyebrow from beneath her too large helmet, but didn't comment. "Miss Bellmark, was it?" She nodded in response, "Let's get started then." Ratchet sighed, and began the checkups. They quickly learned that this doctor had a few rough edges… linked to that handy dandy wrench of his. John and Larry found themselves the receivers of most of the beloved hunk of metal's kisses.

Bobbi mentally called them all idiots and smirked in amusement. "You're done. Now get outta my med bay!" Ratchet shook his wrench angrily, and Larry and John bolted. Bobbi silently chuckled and headed out with a rather pale Tammy and an amused Evan. When they passed by the doors, Jazz and the two cowards were waiting. "Hey Bobbi!" John grinned, "We planned on having a celebration once we got here for arriving safely and all that. Jazz here says he wants to join in. Wanna come?" Bobbi tilted her head at the red head. He barely even knew her, yet would invite her to his quarters for a party?

The mute shook her head and turned around to leave. "Oh come on! It'll be fun!" The annoying soldier attached himself to her arm and pouted at her with puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeaaaaaase? Pretty please? I promise I won't let Larry draw penises on your face if you happen to fall asleep!" John's begging was irritating. "Hey! That's YOU you goober!" Larry huffed, crossing his arms playfully, pretending to be upset. "Come one, it isn't good to lock yourself up. Its good to relax and let loose once in awhile." Tammy implored, and Evan chuckled softly and moved forward to remove John from her arm. "We'd like you to celebrate with us." He smiled as he removed the overgrown baby from Bobbi's arm.

The woman thought for a moment, then nodded in acceptance. John squealed happily, Larry cheered, and the next thing Bobbi knew, she was being dragged down the hallway. Her eyes widened, what had she gotten herself into? "Tha's th' spirit!" Jazz laughed happily, moving alongside them. Bobbi flailed her arms slightly, alarmed, but couldn't get herself free from the two men's grip as they headed to Larry and John's shared room.

They entered, laughing and joking. The room was rather small, intended for only two people with minimum belongings, all that it contained were the two bags Larry and John had brought with their equipment in them, laying on their respecting beds. They finally released Bobbi, who stumbled slightly and rubbed her arms with a slight scowl. "How about a game of poker?" Evan suggested with a smile, pulling out a deck of cards from his pocket. The way the light reflected off his glasses made Bobbi wary.

"You only want to play because you're awesome at it!" Tammy complained with a pout, but the sparkle in her gray green eyes negated the pouting irritation she displayed. Evan smirked back at the strawberry blonde in response. "Oh come on Tammy!" Larry chuckled jovily, "Evan might wipe the floor with us, but it'll be fun, right?"

"Uh… 'scuse me? W'a's 'Poker'?" Jazz raised his hand in question, a brow cocking upwards. Bobbi sighed silently and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was already regretting this. If she had just gone back to her and Tammy's quarters, she could clean her gun and go to bed. But no, she had allowed these…. morons, to draw her into their silly antics. "You don't know poker?! Sacrilege!" John shrieked, "We must fix this at once!" And so, two minutes later, they all found themselves placed around the table with cards and chips.

"...How? Just… how?"

"This guy's bloody good! You sure you've never played before?"

"Ah'm sure." Jazz grinned at Larry and John's gaping faces, "I's pretty easy ta' pick up on."

Ten minutes into the game and Evan was sweating as he went up against Jazz. Bobbi had lost, yes, but she was smiling and rather enjoying her time watching and listening to the others. Having removed her helmet, she leaned against it on the table as she watched, her short, spiky brown hair sticking up everywhere.

It was around eleven at night before everyone headed to bed, leaving Larry and John to their quarters. Bobbi found herself smiling as she moved down the hall with Tammy and into their shared quarters. She had enjoyed herself, a lot. The way everyone had played and joked, the way they had laughed and let loose… it had enlightened her to just how close they were to one another. A pained frown tugged at her lips.

At one time, she had had that. That same closeness. Bobbi shoved the thought away with a scowl, got into her pajamas, and crawled into bed, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. She had to be up early, she couldn't afford to keep herself up all night with these thoughts.


	2. First Day

"So we wait a month and watch them to see if they are trustworthy, then let them in on this?" Lennox raised an eyebrow at the hulking metallic giant standing in front of where he was standing on the cat walk in the main hanger so he could be eye to optic level with him.

"Yes." The being rumbled with a nod.

"An' send back th' ones tha' don' meet th' cut." A silver being with a blue visor for eyes broke in with a grin. Lennox sighed, running a hand through his hair and leaning against the rail of the catwalk with his other hand.

"The Decepticons haven't made a move in a while. We can afford the time for now. Let's go ahead and have them trained, we can see what kinda people they are through that." Epps spoke up from beside Lennox, his arms crossed. A red and black being groaned from across the room, "Really? Keeping still and pretending to be plain Earth cars for a month?" The complaint was met with glares and quiet chuckles. "Sideswipe?" A black, stocky being grumbled gruffly,

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Bobbi was tired. No, screw that, tired was too light of a word. She was fucking exhausted. Maybe it was jet lag, maybe it was from sitting in a plane all day yesterday. Either way, she swore mentally that she was going to kill that alarm clock when it woke her up with its screeching. She was standing over it in her pajamas, messy hair sticking everywhere, eyes gleaming with evil intentions, wrench raised above her head and ready to kill it, when Tammy woke and lunged.

"No! Don't kill my baby!" The strawberry blonde wailed to the brunette, and practically tackled the mute to the side. Bobbi flailed, determined to at least put a new dent in the stupid thing, but was unable to dislodge the larger blonde. Not that Tammy was fat, far from it. She was very curvy and nice looking, but Bobbi was a measly four foot eight and like a stick with only a few curves here and there. Tammy was nearly a whole foot taller than her. Bobbi scowled as she laid on her front, the blonde haired menace sitting on her back.

The stupid alarm was still blaring. "You gonna leave my poor boo-boo alone?" The question was stern and it made Bobbi scowl. _Why _Tammy loved that stupid thing was a mystery in itself. The brunette nodded, short spiky hair bobbing with the motion. It was longer than a crew cut, but still short enough that it stuck straight up on its own with gravity defying power. "Good." The taller woman got up off of her and shut the annoying mechanic devil off. Alarm clocks were the devil, of that Bobbi was convinced.

Brushing aside thoughts of homicide concerning a poor, innocent alarm clock, Bobbi got to her feet and started dressing and getting ready for training. She scowled silently as Tammy bounced around as she got ready, humming a happy, random tune. How she could be so bubbly and happy _all _the time, even so early in the morning, was mind boggling to Bobbi. She was _so _not a morning person.

"Hey Bobbi? How about we get some breakfast and coffee at the mess hall together? We can get the guys on the way." Tammy seemed nervous asking the silent woman but had sucked up her courage to do so. Bobbi tilted her head in consideration as she scooped up her grandfather's old war helmet, then nodded before slamming it on. She buckled it, smirking as Tammy squealed happily and bounced up and down. "Yes! Come on let's go!" A hand, slightly larger than her's, but still slim and feminine, grabbed Bobbi's hand and ripped it from where she had just fixed the buckle of the ancient helmet.

Bobbi opened her mouth in a silent cry, before forgetting she was mute and telling Tammy off angrily as she was dragged out the door and down the hall. She continued to do so to the oblivious blonde haired woman until they reached the room that was John and Larry's. From what Bobbi understood, Evan was sharing a room with a guy by the name of 'Mr. Wurst'. She didn't mean to pry…

But wasn't 'wurst' a German sausage? Bobbi was brought from her confused and frustrated musings and silent ranting by Tammy knocking at the door. A fully dressed, grinning John opened the door. "Well hello gorgeous!" The red head leaned against the door frame with a low whistle. Tammy laughed and punched him in the arm, "Shut it you!" Bobbi couldn't help her slight smile at their familiar banter, even as John playfully grabbed where Tammy punched him and cried out, "Oh how you wound me!"

Larry chuckled as he shoved John out of the way, shaking his head full of platinum blonde hair. "You moron." His words were light and jesting, and John laughed in response, pushing back against him in a playful manner. "Oh but you love me! ...right?" John turned wide, large baby blue's on Larry, who pretended to look thoughtful. "I dunno… you are a pretty big idiot…" John gasped and grabbed at his heart, "Oh how your words tear at my heart!"

"Eh, maybe I can afford to love you." Larry shrugged with a grin, and John hugged him with a laugh. A quiet voice from behind Tammy startled them all. "If you all continue to stand here like clowns, the food will be gone by the time we get there." Evan told them all sternly. The reaction was instantaneous, but amusing in no small amount. "NO! NOT THE FOOD!" John was suddenly halfway down the hall, screaming about saving the food. Larry laughed and took off after him. Tammy, with a hand still on Bobbi's arm, raced after them.

Evan only chuckled and followed after them at a calm walk, ignoring Bobbi's pleading look. Which turned it into a heavy scowl. He was a jerk. Oh yes, he was the biggest prick to ever walk the face of the earth. And Bobbi made sure he knew it through her dark and unforgiving gaze. How dare he leave her to the clutches of his crazed teammate? He was supposed to help her! Not abandon her in her hour of need!

Bobbi was broken from her thoughts and brought back to reality by being dragged through a pair of metal doors, the side of her helmet knocking against the metal frame and making a loud thudding noise that made her ears ring and her head hurt. Both from the sound and the solid contact. "Oh! Sorry Bobbi!" Those steel like hands removed there tight grip, and the helmet clad woman immediately scowled and began rubbing her head through the head gear, ignoring the blonde and stomping past to those glorious breakfast lines, where the two knuckleheads were already getting their breakfast.

The mess hall was full. Absolutely packed. Different soldiers with so many different skin tones and accents bustled around their squad with a hurried purpose. It made Bobbi wonder why their one squad would make such a difference. Surely they had enough here? Evan and Tammy moved up to join Bobbi at her place in the line. "Makes you wonder why they need us." Evan murmured, giving voice to the mute's question. Bobbi nodded in agreement as she looked around at them all in curiosity.

"Apparently they had a certain quota of soldiers they need to have on base. We're supposed to replace a team that died last week." Tammy muttered, "Seriously, am I the _only _one that reads those stupid reports?"

"You're not the only one, Tam. My question is why they need so many. They've got plenty with this amount." Evan sighed, brushing his neatly kept hair back into place and pushing his glasses up again from where they had slipped down his nose.

Bobbi shook her head and waved a hand. "Don't question the big heads, huh?" Tammy questioned the mute with a grin, and the brunette nodded in response as the line moved and they followed. "Sounds good to me. Their stupid at time anyway." The blonde laughed, and Evan shook his head with a sigh, "Watch who you say things like that around…" His mumbled only made her laugh a little harder, "You're always so serious!"

Five minutes later they had gotten their food and had joined John and Larry at their empty table. As they sat down, Larry reached over and rapped his knuckles against Bobbi's helmet, much like he had tugged on Evan's hair the day before. "Why do you wear this thing all the time?" He questioned with a mutter, and grinned as he drew back from Bobbi's swatting hand. "Alright alright! I get the point! No touchy!" He laughed.

"One of these days you're going to get punched for your hands on approach, chucklehead." Tammy warned, "You're lucky your squad is so loving and kind and merciful." she then sniffed and crossed her arms, turning her nose up at him, "Heaven knows you don't deserve it."

"You're so mean!" Larry cried, nearly throwing himself out of his chair as he dramatically leaned back and clutched at his heart, "I only do it because of my affection for you all! Don't you love me?"

"Barely." Evan muttered and drank his coffee. Bobbi closed her eyes in bliss as she drank her own, savoring the dark, bitter taste of it as it slid down her throat and carved a warm path down to her stomach. Oh how she loved this nectar of the universe. "Oh how cruel! John! Tell me you love me!" Larry clutched at John's arm desperately. The red head patted his head with a soft chuckle and a grin. "Its okay Larry, the pain will pass."

"Wait, what?"

"Exactly."

Bobbi ignored them and continued to dig into her breakfast, silently moaning at its warmth if questionable texture. Finishing before her teammates, Bobbi stood to put her tray up, but didn't even make it to her full height. "Docktor!" The cry was in a heavy, very deep Russian accent. The next thing Bobbi knew, she was in a crushing bear hug and choking in the grasp, kicking her legs in response.

The voice was familiar, but damn she couldn't even breathe! "Vladimir has missed tiny docktor!" The voice boomed with laughter. Bobbi was hit with the knowledge of who it was like a load and struggled to turn her head so she could see the face she knew so well, grinning like an eager puppy. "Yo! Asshat! Put 'er down, she can't breathe!" She heard Larry snap, and couldn't help the wave of gratitude.

She loved Vladimir, she really did, but she NEEDED air. Large, heavily muscled arms released her and she landed on her feet only to spin around and hug him as she gasped for breath. Arms gently wrapped around her small frame, more careful than before. "Oi, Bobbi, you know this guy?" Tammy looked up at the Russian man who towered over them all at an impressive height of six foot three. Bobbi nodded enthusiastically as she released the gentle giant, her eyes bright and her heart nearly singing.

"Vladimir is old team mate. Leetle woman is favorite docktor!" The Russian boomed gleefully. He was grinning, showing off large white teeth from his scruffy brown beard, his warm brown eyes crinkled at the edges and sparkling. He bent down, grinning at Bobbi, "Vhat is vrong? Docktor not usually so quiet, da?" Bobbi silently laughed and reached out, patting him on the head, his crew cut hair scratching against her hand stiffly.

Then, she reached up and pulled down on her uniform, revealing her neck. Bobbi knew he would see the large pale scar that marred her sun-kissed skin. It was hard to miss. Vladimir's smile fell and his eyes widen. "They took tiny docktor's voice?" His voice was soft and deadly, quiet and promising pain. Bobbi released it and shook her head, "Then who? Vladimir promises pain without end for person! He will pound them into ground! Six feet under!" The Russian was scowling now, pissed off.

Once more, Bobbi patted his head, as if to say it was alright. Vladimir grumbled, frowning but remained quiet. He always was like that giant big brother or loving, protective puppy. It didn't help that he had a soft spot for Bobbi.

"Vladimir will get answer later." He warned, then stood to his full height and let it go, "Finish up, da? Training is soon." The Russian grinned one last time, "Small docktor better visit later." He patted Bobbi's helmet, then turned and left, an odd bounce in his step as he returned to his duties.

Bobbi's teammates slowly spoke up from where they had stood in preparation to defend their small friend from the giant of a man. "Who… the hell was that?" Tammy spoke slowly,

"Dunno. But I like him!" John grinned,

"You would." Evan noted blandly,

"But he seemed nice." Larry cut in before John could protest. Bobbi, deciding she didn't want to listen to her team's idle chatter, or be late to her new training, left to put her tray away. She couldn't help her smile as she did so and headed to the main hangar where she had been told it would start.

Vlad was here. Her old teammate was here at this base. This would make things both a lot easier, and a lot harder. Bobbi wondered how much he had changed as she moved along the hallway, barely aware of the fact that her new team had caught up and was walking beside and behind her, talking. Certainly, Vladimir had gotten better with his English. An improvement to be certain, it was much easier to understand him. Was he still a mechanic? Or had he switched to soldier like he had wanted to? Perhaps he was both now? Bobbi smiled fondly at the thought of her old friend getting to where he wanted to be.

He deserved it, with all the shit he had been put through. Evan put a gentle hand on Bobbi's shoulder as the entered the main hangar and she was about to walk straight into another soldier if she continued, she looked up at her teammate and smiled gratefully. Evan nodded and removed his hand. For some things, words simply weren't needed. Even if she didn't know him too well just yet. She was learning.

There was only the one soldier in the room, and he was standing right in the center, arms at the small of his back. He had almost black eyes, with matching hair in a buzz cut, and had a stern, hard-ass look on his face. The squad evened out as they had been trained, and stood at attention. The soldier raised an eyebrow and slowly, ever so slowly began to walk towards them. He stopped in front of Bobbi, who kept her face blank. Don't show them fear, and they are less likely to stomp on you.

"What," He even spoke slowly as he reached out to flick the helmet, "Is this piece of junk?" Bobbi didn't answer or move, keeping her gaze ahead, "I don't remember this being in the uniform pack, soldier. Answer me." The cold, angry voice nearly made her flinch, but she held her ground and stayed still. Don't move, Bobbi sternly told herself, and followed her own command to the letter. "Excuse me sir-" John began,

"I. Wasn't. Talking. To. You." The soldier spoke every work with a slow deliberation to John, as if he was mentally impaired.

Thankfully, they were all saved from being browbeaten by the soldier by Lennox walking into the room, past the semi and towards them. "That'll be all, Mr. Kurt." Their superior spoke in a swift, chilling tone, his eyes saying that he did not appreciate the way the soldier was acting. Kurt saluted, "Yes sir." And promptly left. Lennox offered them an apologetic smile and stopped in front of them where Kurt had been before getting in Bobbi's face. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I had a meeting and got held up." He sounded sincere, "Now then, let's start with your training. Here are your timetables." Lennox handed out papers to each of the soldiers, "You will follow them through each day for one month."

"And at the end of that month?" Evan questioned, raising a brow, giving voice to the whole team's question. Lennox grinned, a grin that made Bobbi a tad bit nervous, "Then we decide who is worth keeping, and who gets sent back." There was silence, then quiet acceptance. "You're dismissed. Follow the timetable for today." The team dispersed from the room, leaving Lennox standing there with the silent, hulking giants in plain sight.

"Weapons practice…? Didn't we do this in Basic?" Larry grumbled looking over the sheet,

"Yeah, and look at this, 'Computer Training'. Our job is to point and shoot, not ask questions and mess with computers." Tammy grumbled, the normally bubbly and happy blonde's mood taking a fall,

"I think this'll be fun!" John grinned, "Maybe its new stuff!"

"That's enough, let's focus now." Evan broke in, voicing Bobbi's thoughts, who had been silently walking alongside them, "We were sent here to do a job. If the job is to do this for a month, we do this for a month. Now come on."

Weapons training was very new. Ironhide was apparently the instructor of the 'class'. When the squad arrived, there were a bunch of other soldiers waiting and they were about to begin. They migrated to the back of the crowd and disappeared among them, drawing no attention to themselves. Ironhide was showing them all how to use a strange weapon they had never seen before. It was some form of heat weapon that had Evan nearly drooling with the want to take it apart and see how it worked.

Its design was somewhere between a rocket launcher and a flamethrower. Slim and sleek, yet held underhand like the flamethrower and firing large missiles that exploded into an intense heat on contact, melting and turning anything it hit too a gooey puddle. Of course, the ones they were giving had no ammo in them so they wouldn't accidentally go off and possibly kill or injure someone or cause damage to the room.

Bobbi calmly reached over, put her hand on his jaw, and closed it manually, stopping the steady drip of drool. His burning desire was sated, however, when Ironhide told them they would be taking them apart and putting them back together until they knew every part by feel alone and could take it apart and put it back together with their eyes closed. The entire time was spent doing just as they were told. Evan was rather pleased, Bobbi and Larry were indifferent, and John and Tammy were bored out of their skulls.

While Evan excelled at the more intellect side of things, John and Tammy excelled more at obstacle courses and other things that involved more physical training. Larry was actually the pilot of the group, and was much better at everything involving vehicles. Bobbi was something of a jack-of-all-trades. She could try her hand at something and do it, maybe even well, but she wasn't amazing at anything. She molded very well to her situation but she wasn't the best at whatever they asked of her. She was a wild card.

When the class ended, John and Tammy were the first ones out the door, causing the others to chuckle at their eagerness. The day passed much the same way. Everything was different from what they had been taught, Evan was nearly beside himself with joy for the most of the day. Besides when they got to the Obstacle Courses. Then he was not so joyful. Tammy and John, however, were nearly whooping with happiness at the thought of finally being able to do something THEY were good at.

And so the duo left their team in the dust when their squad was put through it. Not surprising, they came first, with Bobbi in second, Larry in third, and Evan right on his heels. Their time was average, being as they were only human and had never been pushed past military standards. Their instructor, Epps, told them that this would change. Faster was better, it meant you had a higher chance of survival. So he would push them until they broke, and then beyond. Bobbi wasn't quite so sure she liked this idea.

In fact she would much rather point and shoot at someone's face. But alas, this was her job. And she would do it. By the end of the day, everyone was aching, their brains were mush, and there was not even a suggestion of hanging out for a little bit. It was shower, dress, maybe not even dress, and crawl brokenly into bed. Bobbi herself barely even got into her pajamas before she passed out on her bed.

Perhaps tomorrow would prove easier since she had gone through hell today. The second time around was usually easier, right?

(Hello everyone! Thank you all for your reviews and support! I must say I'm rather pleased with how this first fanfiction is turning out. :) But I'd appreciate it if you let me know your thoughts on it- and I'd really like to know what you all think of Vladimir and Bobbi! Anyway, please leave a review and constructive criticism if you could, please! Thank you~ -Bomani


	3. Something Warm, Something Blue

(Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter! :D Oh! But before that- *Ahem* I KNOW THIS ONE! I KNOW THIS ONE! OH OH OH! PICK ME! *Flails arms* Oh yeah! I do NOT own Transformers, because if I did I wouldn't fuck up like Bayverse did and KILL Jazz! Oh my poor, poor Jazzy baby... *Coughs* Please enjoy the chapter and please leave your thoughts in the reviews! I LOVE reading comments, you have no idea!)

She was going to kill that alarm clock. No, she was going to fucking SACRIFICE it to the ruler of darkness! The cruel, twisted grin on her face would have made Lucifer himself shiver with fear and delight as she lifted her favorite wrench above her head, a gift from a now deceased uncle of her's that had been a mechanic.

Only for her plans to be thwarted by the evil strawberry blonde, clad in her equally evil pink armor by said blonde tackling her to the side.

Bobbi had, once more, been woken by the alarm clock at four in the morning. She had been about to smash it into itty bitty pieces with her wrench; had ALMOST brought the hunk of metal down on the poor Scooby-Doo head of the cartoon themed alarm clock when a pink pajama wearing, blonde menace had tackled her to the side, stopping her.

'Stop it! I'll be doing the world a favor!' Bobbi mouthed, flailing desperately from under the larger woman. "Stop trying to murder my poor baby!" Tammy wailed, clinging to Bobbi desperately, "Its just a baby!" Giving up, Bobbi went limp, huffing irritably.

"Good Bobbi, nice Bobbi." Tammy crooned, and patted the brunette on the head before getting off of her. The mute scowled at her, silently telling her she didn't appreciate being treated like a child or a pet. The blonde merely giggled and moved off to get ready for the day. Bobbi grumbled internally, got up, and worked to get dressed. Maybe she could hit Tammy over the head with her wrench, and hide the body in the hall closet… then she could destroy that electric menace that called itself an alarm clock.

Shaking her head free of such morbid thoughts, Bobbi finished getting ready for training. Just as she was about to walk out the door, she was swept away by a whirl of blonde and camo. The woman's surprised shriek was silent and unheard as Tammy cackled wildly, practically carrying Bobbi to the guy's quarters. No amount of flailing would free her.

Like yesterday, they were greeted at the door, only they both looked like Zombies. "Need… coffee…" John moaned pathetically and Bobbi eyed him warily. Alright, she just needed to bash him in the head with a shovel if he went after the children… She shook her head, blinking, how had she gotten attached to these idiots again? Oh yeah, they were nice and dragged her into their circle forcefully.

A scowl worked its way onto her face as they all ambled down the hall to Evan's room. Goddammit, why was Tammy still dragging her? Bobbi jerked her arm roughly, but Tammy had a grip of steel on her upper arm. So the mute went limp with a sigh and allowed herself to be dragged along.

They stopped outside a door in another hallway, and Larry knocked on it lightly. The man that answered was not Evan. If Bobbi had to guess, she'd say it was Mr. Wurst. He stood at about five foot, four inches or so and had a mop of unruly black hair on his head. Sleepy, mint green eyes blinked at them from under a few black curls. His uniform was neat and crisp. "Morning~ Is Evan there?" Tammy grinned widely, charmingly. Bobbi fought the urge to roll her eyes. Tammy was both a social butterfly and a flirt, it seemed.

"Ah, ja." The man spoke with a strong German accent which was still riddled with sleep, he yawned and turned his head, "Evan! Zere are people here to see jou. Hurry up jou zombie!" Mr. Wurst then meandered to the side, allowing Evan to step up. He was ready to go, but looked dead on his feet. Bobbi winced sympathetically. "'M ready…" Evan fell against the door frame with a tired yawn, his glasses slipping down his nose.

"Come on four eyes, John needs his coffee." Tammy teased with a grin, making John make a half hearted swat at her arm with a playful grumble. "Let's get going then." Evan sighed, stepping around them and brushing his hair back into place as he did so and pushing his glasses back into place.

The group hurried after him, the door to his room shutting with a heavy thump, as if sealing poor Bobbi's fate. Said mute let out a wordless moan of misery and allowed herself to be drug along like an overused rag doll. Pouting, she stared at the ground as Tammy avidly chatted with the guys on the team and continued to drag Bobbi along.

Large arms suddenly surrounded the tiny medic's waist and heaved her up out of Tammy's clutches when they entered the mess hall. "Vladimir thinks this is belonging to him." A smug, deep baritone spoke clearly with a clearly defined Russian accent. Bobbi couldn't help her grin as she was settled up on Vlad's shoulder, a familiar and safe place for her. When they had been a team in the beginning, he had always placed her there when walking around so she could shoot from his shoulder and have his back.

"H-Hey! Wait a minute!" Vladimir ignored Tammy's startled cries and calmly walked off with Bobbi, humming a deep Russian song and nearly bouncing. Bobbi grinned gratefully and patted the gentle giant's head, causing him to release a deep, almost kitten like purr in happiness. He continued to walk with Bobbi until he reached his table, which had several men around it that she recognized from the first meeting on the tarmac, when she had first arrived, and a few she didn't know at all, though she was sure she had seen them at some point.

"Vlad has rescued tiny docktor!" The Russian bellowed proudly, causing Bobbi to release a silent laugh and for a few of the men to chuckle or look amused. "You sure did." A young man grinned. He was lanky yet lean with muscle and lightly tanned. He sported the same electric blue eyes as the others, but seemed much younger then them.

He had pitch black hair pulled back into a ponytail with long bangs in the front that framed his face. One of which was dyed a crimson red color, like blood or ketchup. Bobbi tilted her head at him, and a few others she didn't recognize. Two of them appeared to be twins. Same eyes, but they were almost as short as her, just barely taller, had buck teeth, and one had rust red colored hair while the other had an ugly green color for his hair.

"Yo bro! Look 'et th' chick!" One crowed,

"Oh yeah, she fine!" The other whistled- both received a wrench to the back of the head,

"Enough you two." Ratchet growled gruffly from beside Ironhide and Jazz. Bobbi, from her spot with her red face, offered a grateful smile. Ratchet nodded slightly in turn. Vlad scowled at the twins, "Lettle, lettle men will watch tongues! Vladimir does not like tiny medic getting picked on." The Russian warned as he sat Bobbi in a chair carefully next to his own, right beside the red and black haired man.

Before anyone could say much else, Vlad patted the small woman on the head. "Vlad will get breakfast for Bobbi. Bobbi stay here and speak with friends." He grinned toothily and promptly left Bobbi to the wolves. The medic gaped after him for several moments before turning back to the group uncertainly. "That knucklehead is Sideswipe. This is Mudflap and Skids." Ratchet grumbled, gesturing to the three she didn't know, "Most of what they say is idiotic and therefor can be ignored.

His words drew cries of indignation and protest from the three, and started an argument between the twins. Bobbi silently coughed into her hand awkwardly, unsure of what to do or 'say' at this point. "Your part of the new squad that just joined, right?" Sideswipe grinned and leaned forward on the table, oozing confidence and suave. This was a man used to getting what he wanted. Bobbi wasn't swayed.

She would admit, the men with blue eyes were VERY attractive, and Mr. Wurst was very attractive as well, but she wasn't one so easily consumed with looks. Bobbi had always been more attracted by the intelligence of a man, rather than the luck of his gene pool. So she frowned, but still nodded in answer to his question. "Sideswipe…" The white and red haired doctor drawled.

"Yeah doc?" The man grinned at him,

"...She's mute you imbecile."

"What, like Bumblebee?" Bobbi had to wince a little at this man's insensitivity, even if it was clear that he meant no offense by the question. Mudflap and Skids suddenly hit the floor rolling in a fistfight, and Ironhide stood to break them apart. The old yet stern man had been practically drooling on the table as he had napped. Something told Bobbi he didn't get much sleep. She couldn't help but to watch in amusement as he bashed the twin's heads together to get them to stop their ruckus.

"Leetle docktor's food is here!" A Russian accented voice laughed, and a plate full of military grade food was stuck under Bobbi's nose. The mute took it from him with a smile and set it on the table where she could get to it. When Vladimir sat next to her, she reached over and gently scratched his scalp in thanks. He made a strange, pleasant, happy crooning noise. Vlad had always loved having his head scratched.

When Bobbi removed her hand and started to eat, Vladimir let out this sad puppy like noise, begging her not to stop. The field medic smiled into her meal, used to this from their time together in the same team. A nostalgic, sad smile worked its way onto her face as she continued to eat, barely noticing the taste as she remembered. Vladimir seemed to know where Bobbi's thoughts were, and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder that engulfed it. He really was a giant, and his hands were in proportion to his body.

"Leetle medic is remembering good times, da? Good times still here, just different." The large Russian assured her, and Bobbi reached up a hand to gently pat the one on her shoulder, assuring him that she was fine and understood. Vlad grinned toothily and bit savagely into his biscuit, he laughed when Bobbi made a face and continued to eat. "Yo bro, wassat?" The red haired twin questioned, "Dunno man."

Bobbi didn't look up, but could almost FEEL one of the twins reaching to poke at her helmet. She sighed through her nose irritably. Could they not leave that alone? Vlad's large hand suddenly caught the smaller man's wrist. "No touch. Leetle medic does not like." He warned, "Is family heirloom. Passed down from grandfather to son, father to son, brother to sister. Leetle funny smelling man will not touch, or Vladimir will show leetle man how pain is painted." Bobbi almost laughed at the situation.

Vlad could be overprotective at times, like a giant, adorable guard dog. "Yo man I jus' wanted ta' know-"

"You very annoying." Vlad broke in irritably, "Keep hands to self." He threw the twin's wrist from himself, making the young man stumble slightly and causing Ironhide to snicker. The field medic could hear them running off, saying something about a scary fleshy. Bobbi didn't understand, but she didn't ask questions. That wasn't her place. Not that she could even ask them, mind you. Sighing heavily through her nose, the medic reached over and patted Vlad's arm. She was doing a lot of patting today…

Nonetheless, it acquired the desired effect and the giant calmed. Finished with her meal, Bobbi stood and scooped her tray up. "Miss Bellmark." The statement of her name made her stop and look up at the doctor. She tilted her head, letting him know she was listening, "Please stop by the med bay later. I'd like to take a look at your throat." Annoyance surged through her. Her vocals were GONE. There was no saving them. Yet this man seemed determined to at least take a look at them and see for himself.

It angered Bobbi. All she wanted was to be left alone and for people to just let her do her job and continue on with life. Still, he was her superior, and she couldn't very well tell him off for more than one reason. So, she tightened her lips in her displeasure, and nodded before leaving. Vlad lumbered after her with his own tray. It had been years since they had seen one another, and it had been taxing since they viewed one another like siblings. So, big brother Vladimir was not likely to let his beloved little sister out of his sight for quite a while.

Poor Vlad, however, was forced to return to his duties and let Bobbi go back to her team and continue with her day. Although the giant did promise to see her at the med bay that evening. The medic had grinned, given him a side hug, and then ran off to find her team. Vladimir had stood there for a moment, pouting like a lost puppy, before turning and heading off in his own direction, looking forward to seeing her later.

The day was hellish, Bobbi could attest to that. It seemed like their instructors were trying to kill them, if she were to be brutally honest. The classes involving guns, computers and any sort of technology were taxing to say the least. By the end, brains were mush and no one wanted to touch any sort of technology ever again. The classes involving combat, running, hiding and that sort of thing made them all sore and exhausted in ways they didn't think were possible. Bobbi found at least six muscles she didn't know she had.

Basic and IT training had been hard, she wouldn't lie, but this went BEYOND that. Scowling, the medic found herself wishing she could take a shower and go straight to bed. Alas, twas not to be, as Bobbi was not one to ignore a superior's order. So, tired and sore, bruised and weary, Bobbi headed to the med bay with a short and frayed temper.

Her teammates gave her sympathetic looks as they parted ways, they for the showers, and Bobbi for the evil, evil Ratchet's lair. However, seeing as she had only been there once, and had been shown on the first day, she had managed to get herself hopelessly lost. Grumbling silently, Bobbi turned a corner, bringing her feet down harder than necessary while walking so she was almost stomping, yet not quite.

Whirling around yet another corner, Bobbi knocked into someone, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She scrambled to her feet, lips moving in silent apologies. "Oh, Miss Bellmark, are you alright?" The voice was a deep, apologetic, gentle baritone. Optimus Prime stood to his full height. Seriously? _She _was the one who barreled into him, and yet he was concerned for her well being? Bobbi blinked up at the taller man, nodding embarrassedly and trying to assure him she was fine.

Good God she probably looked like a big fool! And in front of one of the highest ranked officers on this base no less! "You seem troubled. Are you lost?" Optimus rumbled kindly, bringing Bobbi from her thoughts. She nodded again, shifting with awkwardness. She didn't know how to act, let alone what she should do. "The med bay is around that corner." The tall man rumbled with a secretive smile, and a nod in that direction.

Bobbi gaped at him for a moment, at the knowledgable gleam in his eyes right along with a spark of amusement before quickly pulling herself back together. She wasn't one to look a gifted horse in the mouth, and she couldn't exactly ask questions- not that she wanted to. Bobbi inclined her head gratefully and proceeded to head in that direction.

Soft chuckling followed after her, but she didn't turn around. Just as Optimus had told her, the large doors to the med bay were just around the corner. Bobbi stared upward at them for several moments. Did they have to make them so tall? It reminded her of just how short she really was. The medic scowled slightly at the thought. She absolutely hated being short. "There is leetle medic! Vladimir thought you lost!" The giant bellowed behind her, making Bobbi jump about three miles in the air with a silent shriek.

The giant gave no mind to her startlement, and promptly picked her up and set her on his shoulder, a place he deemed safe for her to be. "Come! We go to docktor together!" Vladimir's familiar, jolly attitude soothed Bobbi's frazzled nerves, and once she fully realized who it was, she relaxed. Bobbi's tiny hands grabbed onto the sides of Vlad's head as he stepped forward and hit the button to open the med bay doors.

The enormous size of the med bay made Bobbi scowl again at how short and small it made her feel. The designers really didn't give thought to the comfort of poor short people. Brushing the thought away, she looked around as Vlad moved farther in, his steps even and smooth despite his large, heavy frame.

Those huge metal tables seemed to loom over Bobbi's head as she gazed up at them, using two of her fingers on one hand to push her large helmet back so she could see. "Docktor! Leetle medic is here!" Vlad bellowed, and was answered almost instantly,

"Quiet! There's no need to yell!" Ratchet snapped as he stood from a metal desk, a file in hand. Bobbi's stomach dropped as it occurred to her that the file was most likely her's.

Mouth dry, Bobbi allowed Vladimir to pick her up and set her on the ground. "Vlad is sorry. Didn't know docktor was there. But here now!" The Russian grinned at the other man happily. Ratchet grumbled but only waved a hand at Vlad impatiently, "Shoo you. She's in good hands." The large man chuckled and side hugged Bobbi, "Vlad will be outside, waiting for leetle medic!" He told her brightly before letting her go and ambling off.

Bobbi felt as if she had been left alone with a pack of very hungry lions. Or hyenas. "Well, take a seat." The doctor waved at a medical bed and Bobbi hopped up onto it, shifting slightly to get comfortable. "So," Ratchet drawled, looking through her papers, "You're a certified field medic, joined the army when you were twenty-one and you were normal and perfectly healthy up until about two years ago, correct so far?" Piercing blue eyes pinned her in place on that bed, they struck her with intelligence and a desire to help.

Any irritation or annoyance Bobbi had before that melted away. He did, after all, seem like he just wanted to help her. She huffed a heavy sigh through her nose and nodded in confirmation, glad her helmet somewhat hid her eyes from him so he wouldn't see the emotions swirling around like a chaotic typhoon.

On one hand, it annoyed her that he was going through her files and dragging up painful memories of what she had lost, of what she longed to have again. On the other hand, it touched her that he cared enough to try to help her. So, she stayed quiet, figuratively speaking, and allowed him to continue. "Two years ago there was a freak accident in training. A real grenade got mixed in with the dummy ones. When someone pulled and threw, it bounced and landed too close to your squad."

Bobbi winced, remembering how it had all went down. "The rest of your squad were crouched down and preparing to pull and throw. You, however, were standing and getting ready to throw. The grenade went off, and you were hit with shrapnel. A piece cut into your throat and cut your vocal cords. Correct?" Ratchet looked up from the file as he set it down on the metal desk that seemed to belong to him. Bobbi nodded, lips pressed together so tight they faded to a white color with the intensity.

Ratchet nodded to himself and pulled out a strange device from his pocket. It was square and futuristic looking, with a sleek design, a bunch of buttons and switches on it, and a rather nice screen on it. "Hold still." he told her calmly, and moved over closer. Bobbi obeyed, holding still despite the apprehension she felt. How many times had she gone through this? Poked and prodded, only to hear that they couldn't do anything for her?

She couldn't help but to jump a little when Ratchet's large and warm hand gently took hold of her shoulder. It was sudden, and made her feel uncomfortable, though at the same time she felt oddly comforted by it. Bobbi wanted him to keep his hand there, if only for a little while longer. The desire confused her and made her want to slap herself. Really? Just… really? She was here to do a job dammit! Nothing else!

Bobbi was broken from her thoughts when a bright green light flashed from the device and focused on her throat, passing up and down the length of the flesh there. She stayed stock still, heart speeding up. This was very new and it inspired some fear in her. What the hell was it doing? After a moment, it stopped, the light retreating back into the device and not bothering her skin again.

Ratchet let go of her shoulder to hold onto the device, a frown marring his very handsome face. Bobbi felt the lack of warmth and pressure almost immediately. It made her frown and shift again, a strange warmth blooming in her chest. "I see… fascinating…" Ratchet's mumble was almost silent as he spoke to himself. Unbelievably bright blue eyes moved up and connected with her plain brown ones. It struck her like a bolt of lightning.

Damn the moment they made eyes so bright and blue. Dammit to hell. "I'll look this over and see what I can do." Those eyes, so enchanting and filled with such _life _broke away, making her chest ache, "Go get some sleep."

Nodding at his words, Bobbi got to her feet and hurried away. Away from those eyes and hands that inspired such strange feelings in her. When she left, Vlad was there to walk her back to her room, and for a moment, she was able to forget what happened in the med bay by distracting herself with listening to the giant Russian.

However, when night fell and she had to lay in bed and try to sleep; her thoughts were consumed by warm, kind hands, and impossibly blue eyes...


	4. When Shit Gets Hairy

(I still don't own Transformers! Just reminding you all! Oh! And special thanks to HeartsGuardianSol and rosmund chadwick for the very encouraging, kind and amazing reviews you two left me on my previous chapters! It means SO MUCH to me you have no idea!)

Slim hands slid over the top of the simple bedside table, and a pair of angry brown eyes peeked over the edge at the ringing annoyance that called itself an alarm clock. This time, this time for sure, she promised herself as she raised that precious wrench- that she never used as intended- above her head. However, a screech interrupted her, and a rather solid body of flesh. "NOT MY BABY!"

Bobbi shrieked silently as she was tumbled head over ass by the cruel, dark mistress that reigned over all alarm clocks. As was their routine now, Tammy pinned Bobbi until she consented to letting the alarm clock live for another day, though the brown eyes glaring up at the blonde told her she did _not _appreciate it.

Tammy merely grinned, hauled the tiny woman to her feet, and shoved her along to get dressed and ready. Scowling, Bobbi turned away from the happy-go-lucky, irritating woman and began to prepare for the day. Tammy just laughed and went about her business.

Dreams hadn't plagued Bobbi's mind that night. In fact, she couldn't even remember anything besides blackness. She had been so exhausted, she had slept like a rock. Bobbi wasn't, unfortunately, in a deep enough sleep that she slept through that annoying ringing noise that graced her ears every morning. At four. With sensitive hearing and the alarm clock right beside her head. Yeah, she wanted it destroyed.

Shaking thoughts of murdering the poor alarm clock away, Bobbi finished getting ready, buckling her old helmet to her head. That helmet had saved her life on more than one occasion. Too many times something had fallen on her head, someone had hit her with something heavy upside the head, or it protected her from flying debris or shrapnel. She smiled gratefully, lightly touching the old helmet fondly from where it rested on her cranium.

"The guys said they'll meet us at the mess hall and to just head that way." Tammy broke Bobbi from her thoughts, making her acknowledge the blonde. Sighing silently, the brunette nodded in consent. When clawed, pale hands reached for her, Bobbi stepped back as far as she could with one step, and scowled at Tammy threateningly, picking her wrench up to back the silent threat up. She was _not _in the mood to be dragged.

The blonde pouted cutely, widening her eyes innocently. Bobbi didn't fall for it, her lips pressing into a thin white line. Tammy huffed, "Well fine then! Be that way!" She pretended to be upset and stomped out the door. Pleased, Bobbi set the wrench down and headed out after her blonde, not so much of a friend. However, she had barely closed the door when she was swept away by a pair of pale, steel like hands.

No one heard her silent scream of outrage as she was dragged once more down the hallway. Tammy certainly paid her no mind, cackling excitedly. Bobbi's face twisted with rage as she struggled against her hold, but the blonde wasn't giving. Clenching her jaw, lips peeled back from her teeth, baring them in her anger, Bobbi finally stopped fighting and just let herself get dragged along by the taller woman.

Was she even a woman? No. She was Lucifer incarnated. That explained why she had an evil alarm clock minion. Dammit! Bobbi scowled up at Tammy, silently letting her know that she was not happy. Not in the slightest. The younger woman didn't seem to care. Bobbi's nose wrinkled in a snarl but she didn't sock her teammate in the mouth, like she wanted to. Oh how she wished she could tell the hyper woman off!

Thankfully, however, Bobbi's saving grace came. In the form of a huge Russian tank of a man. Large, strong hands, capable of crushing a man's skull with some force yet also capable of cradling a baby with the utmost care, scooped her up and away from the blonde. "Leetle medic knows where you sleep." Vladimir warned the forceful woman, chuckling as he placed a scowling Bobbi on his shoulder, where she would both be safe, and not be able to attempt to kill a certain blonde soldier in cold blood.

"Hey!" Tammy pouted up at him, "That was mine!"

"Leetle docktor does not like being dragged around like ragdoll." The Russian gently tapped a finger on top of the short woman's head before walking off with Bobbi, towards the food line. Tammy squawked indignantly before chasing after them. Three of her running steps making up one of Vlad's long strides.

Bobbi couldn't help but to smirk down at the woman struggling to keep up with the field medic and her noble steed. When Vlad stepped up to the food line, Bobbi couldn't help her glee at being able to see over everyone's heads. Now _she _was the tall one, and they were all midgets. Vladimir grinned up at the childlike happy expression on Bobbi's face, easily able to tell where her thoughts were.

Even back when they were in the same team, she was always picked on for her size and was very touchy about her height. Being high up always made her grin, especially if there were people shorter than her. Vlad grinned. Seeing the little medic that he viewed as a little sister smile like that made him happy.

When the line moved and it was their turn, the giant Russian picked Bobbi up, and set her down in front of him to get food. Once they were through the food line, he nudged the tiny woman in the direction of her team's table. Tammy, who had been grumbling behind them and just being ignored in general up until now, bolted for the table to greet her best friends.

"Vladimir will spend time with leetle docktor." The Russian rumbled as he grinned at Bobbi. The medic, to her credit, merely rolled her eyes and headed for the table, knowing it would be impossible to reason with the giant puppy, let alone tell him the other's might not feel comfortable around him due to how large he was. Vlad would insist on getting them comfortable with him, and would then crowd their space and hug them at random times

Just like he had done with Bobbi when they had first met, when she was wary of him.

Still, she was glad for Vlad's company. He made her feel safe and more at ease, knowing he would watch her back and would back her up in any situation. Bobbi couldn't help her smile at the thought. Vladimir would be the first to admit he wasn't smart. Ask anyone and they would tell you the big man lacked all the desired equipment upstairs. Intelligence just wasn't his forte. But what he lacked in smarts, he made up for with loyalty, unwavering devotion and a sixth sense for when his friends were in trouble.

Bobbi slid into an empty chair beside a half asleep Evan, and Vlad promptly sat in the empty chair at the little medic's side. The chair beneath him creaked and groaned under his almost three hundred pounds of pure muscle bulk. Bobbi proceeded to begin eating her meal while her team eyed Vladimir warily.

It was a bit funny, the medic thought, to look up and see a giant of a man squeezing himself into the small chair at the table. His shoulders were hunched in and his knees were drawn up slightly. His huge hands rested on the table awkwardly as he offered a toothy grin to everyone around him, like a big kid.

After a few minutes however, the team went back to whatever they had been discussing before Bobbi and Vlad came over, leaving the giant and the tiny woman to discuss things in their own strange language. Bobbi with hand motions and gestures, and Vlad with his intuition and understanding of Bobbi's character, combined with his broken English and occasional spew of Russian expletives.

By the time breakfast was over, Vlad was bellowing in laughter and Bobbi was grinning. The rest of the team was confused as hell over what was going on as they were only able to catch a few words here and there, and didn't understand the jokes even when they did understand. John looked at his coffee, looked at Vlad, looked at the coffee, shrugged, and glugged the coffee. Tammy followed his example.

"We should get going before we're late." Evan warned as he stood,

"Yeah, come on doc." Larry grinned and nudged the small helmet wearing woman. Bobbi pouted, patted a groaning Vlad on the head, and stood to join them. Only, the moment she reached her feet, she and Vladimir heard their names being yelled. The Russian stood, nearly knocking the poor, abused chair over, and turned in confusion. People only called for him if they needed grunt work done or thought it would be funny to pick on the large man.

That usually ended with them in a trash can. In various positions. Results may vary.

A computer analyst from the more intelligent side of the base bolted towards them, looking out of breath. She had an Australian accent, tanned skin, and blonde hair thrown up into a messy bun. Bobbi's team hovered for a moment, wondering what was going on, but the small medic waved them off, and Vlad gently reached out and nudged them towards the door. They obeyed the monolith of a man and scurried off.

When the woman reached them, she took a moment to gain her breath before speaking, "Major Lennox is waiting for you both at the main hanger. He has something to speak to you two about." The blonde told them, plopping down in a chair to rest, her duty done. Vlad nodded, scooped Bobbi up, and set her on his shoulder. "We go together, docktor!" He told her happily, and Bobbi grinned in reply, agreeing.

She held onto his head as he jogged for the main hanger. Bobbi wasn't the smartest, or the fastest, or the strongest. She wasn't flexible or talented at anything in particular. However, Bobbi _was _skilled at climbing and balancing.

When Bobbi had been assigned to the team with Vladimir, those skills had saved her life on more than one account. But more than that, it made her and Vlad a near unstoppable duo. He would charge forward as a steady, firm tank with large guns and an attitude to match. Bobbi? She could always be found balancing on one of his shoulders with a handgun and a belt full of grenades to cover his back and sides with.

So, when Vladimir started running for the main hanger to heed Lennox's call, Bobbi easily clung to his head with a hand, the other braced against the side of his shoulder, keeping her balance without any trouble at all. In fact, Bobbi moved into a crouched position on his shoulder so she would be in a better spot to defend them out of pure reflex and habit.

Vlad rumbled, pleased his small friend remembered their adventures together on the one war front they had been placed together on, but said nothing.

Lennox was standing with Optimus, a cloaked male figure and two other, new men that were unfamiliar to Bobbi. The small medic frowned, and out of habit, she looked around, scanning her surroundings. '_Make sure no threats are coming from the sides or from the back at all times. One slip up could spell Vladimir's death.' _it was a thought she had repeated to herself many times before in the past.

Though there weren't any threats, Bobbi did note that there were new vehicles in the room that she hadn't seen before. A yellow and black sleek lambo sat next to a red and black twin version of it now. There were three new motorcycles off to another side, one a blue color, a pink and white one and a purple one. Bobbi also noted a white, green and red streaked, sleeker and prettier version of a Lancia Stratos. Not that she knew the name- she just knew it looked fast and it looked nice- before Vlad stopped in front of Lennox.

"Leetle man called?" Vlad questioned, tilting his head,

"Ah, yes…" Lennox looked uncomfortable, "Director Galloway, this is-"

"Yes, yes, Vladimir Alaxandrov, or something of the like," Vlad growled at that, "and Bobbi Bellmark." A rather pudgy man in a suit moved right up so he was toe to toe with Vlad, interrupting Lennox and making Bobbi narrow her eyes in dislike. He was rude, and he was assertive. She didn't like him at all.

"Bobs! Vlad! It's been too long!" A familiar voice laughed, before the hooded figure pulled his hood back and let it fall against his back, interrupting the 'Galloway' fellow that Bobbi currently wanted to set on fire. Vlad's eyes widened, "Leetle sniper?"

"Bing! Right answer big guy!" The man laughed. He was five foot two, with a head of long black, brown mixed hair that was pulled into a high ponytail. He had a pair of bright steel gray eyes and a large grin on his face.

Bobbi leaped down from Vlad's shoulder, stumbling from the distance, and promptly smacked the man in the arm. Scowling up at him, she pointed a finger in his face, lips moving with a silent rant. "Geeze Bobs! You get more ferocious as the years pass!" The laugh and joke made her cross her arms and scowl.

"_If you're all quite done." _ Galloway ground out angrily, and it just made Bobbi want to drag out her reunion with her old partner even longer. "Oh yeah, sure thing. Continue cheese head." The cloaked man nodded in a sage like way, and spoke as if he were a monk. Bobbi promptly punched him in the shoulder again, fighting against a grin at Galloway's pissed off face. Vlad rumbled in amusement.

"It's too bad two of the team are dead." The other man that was unfamiliar spoke in an oddly cold and snide voice, it made Bobbi and the cloaked man flinch at the words- Vlad just let out a snarl that made the cold man take a step back and speak with a slight tone of nervousness, "We could do with the whole team. But I suppose we can work with these three. Fill them in, Director." He waved at Galloway, who cleared his throat as if he were some very important person.

Which, he probably was, but Bobbi honestly didn't give a fuck. Do her job she would, let herself get pushed around she would not. "As I recall, you three were part of the war front in a third country whose name shall not be mentioned. Out of all the teams, you were the most effective against the enemy." He readjusted his tie. The ex-team had gone silent at that, not liking where this was going.

"There has been a small uprising of people from that group in a small town which you will be briefed about on the way there. They are causing chaos and working with another group of enemies we have. We want you to go in and handle them." He spoke snootily, as if he expected to get exactly what he wanted.

The other man took over from where Galloway left off, "Being the last group still in the army that has dealt with them, you would be the best to handle them." The man sneered, "Vladimir Alaxandrov, the brute force and mechanic, Bobbi Bellmark, the field medic, and Gabriel Wilson, the sniper."

Bobbi shifted back against Vlad's front. This man _knew exactly _what their positions had been when on the war front. He knew about it, and that scared her. The huge Russian put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, sensing her silent distress, a rumble of dissatisfaction coming from his chest, vibrating the tiny woman. Gabriel shifted his hip outwards and put a hand on his hip, his British accent thickening with anger.

"And what if we don't wanna take the job, huh?"

"There would be… complications." The man told them with a gleam in his eyes and a slight smile on his face. Lennox's eyes narrowed and Optimus pressed his lips together slightly but looked passive besides that. "Is teeny tiny man threatening Vlad and team?" The Russian growled, leaning in slightly. The man backed up a bit more from the goliath that threatened harm to his body if he should answer wrongly.

"Not a threat. A promise. That war was but in the black books and covered up. It wouldn't take much to… make you disappear. No one would even miss you." Galloway spoke up confidently, crossing his arms. Bobbi bared her teeth in frustration. Oh she hated it when they did this, and she _hated _these men.

"So, you want us to go in, guns blazing, and slaughter 'em all?" Gabriel questioned in disbelief, "Seems kinda cold, doesn't it?" At his words, a few of the vehicles in the room rumbled almost… angrily, causing almost everyone besides Optimus to jump. The man, whose name Bobbi still didn't know, looked around with extreme wariness before answering.

"Well… yes, essentially. Kill them before they kill us. I expect you all to be out of here and on your way within the hour. Lennox, you can choose a few soldiers to go with them, but I want it to be a _small _team, brief them on the way and send me a report when its finished." The man spoke hurriedly before whipping around and hurrying out, Galloway on his heels.

"Oh I hate them, those bloody gits. Wankers, both of 'em." Gabriel growled angrily, "Speakin' like that about Tanisha and Hank! Like they even knew 'em…" Bobbi put a comforting hand on the sniper's shoulder, and he grudging settled down. "I'm sorry." Lennox rubbed a hand over his face tiredly.

"Is not leetle man's fault. Is bad man's fault. Vlad not angry with leetle man. Everything will be fine, is not big loss." Vlad reached out and patted Lennox's shoulder.

"We can handle it, don't worry. Sides, its nice to have the team together again, huh?" Gabriel grinned and punched Vlad in the shoulder before hugging Bobbi and nearly squeezing the life out of her. She fought against his hold, wiggling around desperately before Vlad saved her, scooping her away from him and frowning at Gabriel. "What has Vlad told Gabby? Be gentle with medic!" He admonished, and the sniper pouted. Thankfully however, he let it go.

"You two should get ready to go. I'll round up who I want to go with you." Lennox told them, looking a hundred years older than he was. Vlad nodded, picking Gabriel up as well, and moved out of the room with the protesting sniper. Leaving Lennox with Optimus, who hadn't said a word during the exchange.

Bobbi got the distinct impression, however, that he _did not _approve of this at all. In fact, he seemed against every single bit of this.

Vladimir carried them back to his quarters where he set them down gently. "Who was bad man? Vlad is not liking him." The giant grunted, standing back up to his full height.

"Dunno. He didn't speak much on the way here." Gabriel frowned, shrugging as he fixed his clothes, "I've got a plan to kill him if things turn ugly though, just like with everyone else."

Bobbi rolled her eyes at the British man, then gestured with her hands in the best attempt she had at asking her question, head tilting. "Where've I been?" The sniper echoed Bobbi, who nodded insistently, "Oh, well…" The man squinted his eyes and placed a thoughtful hand on his chin as Vlad began getting a large gun out. "I left the army after that mini war, ya' know that much… I just kinda drifted and took odd jobs here and there."

"So leetle baby was mercenary?" Vlad questioned as he checked the old gun over, it was his favorite and he had had it for forever.

"Don't call me that. Not cool. But yeah. Easier than bein' in the army, in a way." Gabriel shrugged and sat down on Vlad's huge bed. Due to how intimidating he was and how people shrunk away from him, Vlad had been given his own room. It was probably a good thing, considering how cuddly the giant was when he slept. He'd use his poor roommate as a teddy bear, and not wake up no matter what the poor being did.

Vlad was just that heavy of a sleeper.

Bobbi shook her head at Gabriel's answer before standing and gesturing at Gabriel, then the door. "Your right. We should get our weapons and supplies." Gab sighed and stood, stretching slightly, "Meet you at the main hanger, Vladimir!" the sniper grinned at the large man, who grunted, still examining his beloved gun closely.

Knowing their old friend had heard, the sniper and field medic exited the room and headed down the hall to the weapons room. "...Bobs…?" Gab murmured, sounding hesitant. The medic tilted her head to the side and looked up at him with raised eyebrows, silently questioning him. Gabriel hesitated before murmuring, "I heard what happened to you. I'm sorry." Bobbi clenched her jaw, eyes hardening before looking ahead.

She hated it when people brought it up and apologized, as if she wanted or needed to hear it. As if she was a charity case or needed their sympathy, or worse yet, their pity. Bobbi's hands clenched at the thought.

"They should have been more careful." Gabriel muttered as he followed her, and Bobbi angrily shook her head, stomping ahead. "Hey. I'm just saying I don't think you deserved that. You don't need to get so angry." Gab huffed, widening his gait so he caught up with the tiny, angry woman. Bobbi scowled a moment before letting it go. Gabriel wouldn't understand. A lot of people wouldn't understand. It wasn't their fault however, they had never lost anything like this before. They had never gone through this. So how could they know?

With that thought in mind, Bobbi shoved the door to the weapons room open and walked in. Ironhide had his back to them and was checking the different guns over carefully at the other side of the room, against the wall. Bobbi stepped up beside the stern, mean old man, reached up, grabbed a sniper gun that closely resembled what she knew Gabriel used- at least last time she checked- and practically threw it into the sniper's arms.

Gab grunted, catching it, then grinned as he checked it over, "Sweet. This is perfect." Bobbi rolled her eyes at him, aware of Ironhide watching them both closely, but ignored him. She grabbed two handguns and slipped them away before grabbing a standard rifle. Together, the two turned and walked out of the room. Ironhide silently updated Optimus.

Fifteen minutes later the three friends met up in the main hanger, packed and ready to go with their gear in optimal condition. As Bobbi stepped up to her comrades, a thought occurred to her. 'We're all getting old.' It was a thought that made her snort to herself mentally. Vlad would be thirty two, if she remembered correctly, with Gabriel close behind at thirty. Bobbi was the youngest at twenty six.

"Something wrong?" Gabriel looked over at his younger friend, to which Bobbi smiled and shook her head. No, nothing was wrong. She had her old friends back, who she hadn't seen in four years at most. Gab grinned, "Good. You ready big fella?" He looked up at Vladimir, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up, holding his gigantic gun with one hand easily.

"Great. Then we just gotta wait for Lennox and his men." Gabby stretched with a slightly yawn. Bobbi nodded, and together they stood there. Just when she was sure she was going to nod off, the medic's head snapped up. Was it just her…

Or had that Lancia moved?

(*Le Gasp* Mysterious man that knows a little too much about Bobbi and her few, old friends? *Ahem* Yes, their past comes back to bite them. Anyway, I tried not to make Bobbi a 'Mary-Sue' and I promise you, I will keep her from going that direction. She is going to stay a human, she's not going to get any special All-spark powers, and she's not going to get her voice back. She is mute, she is human. This is Bobbi.

On that note, Bobbi is not going to be a master at everything or some amazing superhuman. She doesn't have many talents or skills besides climbing, balancing, and a certain two or so other talents she'll discover later on. Now, I DID give her a bit of a plain, if straight back story, and this is part of it. I based this loosely off of my Great Uncle's military career. Very loosely.

On another note, I am SO. SO. SO. sorry if this chapter seems rushed! The whole 'you have a mission' thing was supposed to be out of the blue but I didn't want the chappy to seem too rushed or anything! So I apologize!

MOAR RATCHET IN NEXT CHAPTER AND BOBBI STARTS FEELING THE EFFECTS OF NERVES! ROMANCE IS COMING FOLKS!

Please review? o3o)


	5. Get To Da Water Tower

Bobbi's eyes narrowed.

The machine didn't so much as twitch.

She leaned forward intently.

It didn't react.

"Everyone ready to go?" Lennox's echoing voice made Bobbi jump a mile in the air and let out a soundless shriek. Vladimir caught her in midair and set her on his shoulder firmly, "Yes leetle man, we are ready to go." the Russian assured him, holding onto Bobbi until she calmed and settled enough to get balanced on his wide shoulder.

Grumbling internally, Bobbi shifted so she was crouched on her perch and stilled there. Lennox nodded, "Good. Ratchet, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker will be going with you." He gestured to three men behind him as he spoke. Ratchet's arms were crossed and he looked grumpy- no surprise there- Sideswipe was bouncing with excitement, and Sunstreaker- very new, he looked mean- was scowling at everything.

Sunstreaker was obviously Sideswipe's twin, or at least a close brother. The only difference between them was that Sunstreaker looked… beefier and slightly bigger than Sideswipe, and had yellow in his hair instead of red. Bobbi dismissed them from her mind after a moment. Their relation to one another was none of her business, and she had a mission to complete. Without dying or getting her teammates killed.

"Everyone load up and roll out! Stay in contact with us and keep us updated!" Lennox ordered. Sunstreaker grunted, Sideswipe whooped, and Ratchet grumbled. The men dispersed and climbed into different vehicles. Sides in the red and black sleek car, Sunstreaker in the yellow and black version of Sides's car, and Ratchet into the ambulance.

"That's great and all, but _why _are we taking those? Can't we just hop in the plane, get dropped off, accomplish the mission and come back? Do we really need the vehicles? Seems kinda bulky and not so low key to me." Gabriel crossed his arms, unamused. As a sniper, he relied on being subtle to survive and not get his ass kicked.

"Yes Mr. Wilson. Yes you do." Lennox looked amused, as if he knew some secret they weren't allowed in on, "Now, the plane is waiting outside for you all. Hurry up." The Major turned around, and promptly left them. The British sniper growled in annoyance before turning around, grumbling little insults under his breath. Bobbi only caught one or two involving 'wanker', 'asshat', and 'bloody git'.

She couldn't help her smile at the familiar attitude of her old friend. Cheerful yet cranky. The tiny woman held onto Vlad's head firmly as the large Russian headed outside onto the tarmac to get into the plane, closely followed by Gabriel and the three cars that were following like ghosts. Bobbi herself could barely hear their engines.

The tiny brunette winced as they stepped outside and into the harsh sunlight. When she had been deployed with Vladimir and Gabriel, she had been at a very, very cold base. It was always snowing or blizzarding and was below freezing at all times. Bobbi would admit, she had grown accustom to it. Now, being in a place that practically made her melt against Vlad, was very uncomfortable to her.

The higher ups just loved sending her to the most extreme places of the world, didn't they? Bobbi scowled at the thought, already feeling herself beginning to sweat. After blinking and adjusting to the sunlight, Bobbi gapped at the plane before them. It was huge, clearly able to hold at least five semi's with no problem. The ramp on the back was already lowered for them, revealing a very spacious inside.

The outside was a pristine white that glittered in the sun, with pretty red streaks here and there to decorate it. Like on all the young men with blue eyes, the plane had a strange face symbol on it in the color red, located on its wing in a large size. Bobbi shrugged it off. It wasn't her business, she told herself and squashed her curiosity down firmly.

Vlad and Gabe moved up the ramp side by side, and into the plane. The large Russian sat Bobbi down on one of the seats along the sides of the plane, and sat next to her. Gabriel sat on the mute's other side, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head like a pillow. Vlad merely leaned forward on his legs, bracing himself with his elbows on his thighs, his muscles bulging as he used them slightly.

The three vehicles rolled in one after the other and parked in the middle of the aisle, leaving room on either side of them for walking space. Their windows were tinted, making it impossible to see the people on the inside, but Bobbi supposed it made things easier in a combat zone. After all, how do you shoot what you can't see?

When they stopped and parked, the ramp hissed and moved up into place slowly. Bobbi watched as it sealed itself shut. Then the plane rumbled like a beast waking from a long slumber, making the mute grab Vladimir's arm with alarm. The planes she had flown in were not so loud, or so large. The giant patted the hand on his arm gently in comfort, crooning some strange sentence in Russian. Even though Bobbi couldn't understand what Vladimir was saying, his words still calmed her.

Her hand slipped from his arm as she relaxed, and the plane took off. Once it was in the air and flying steadily, the ambulance opened and Ratchet stepped out. Curiously, the other two men stayed in their vehicles. "You should buckle in." The doctor grunted. Clearly, however, it was more of an order, and less of a suggestion.

Vlad grunted and tried to strap himself in, only to stop as it would not fit. The buckle had stopped a good five inches from clipping in. He was just too large. "Vlad does not like teeny tiny buckle. Does not fit." The giant growled. Bobbi shrugged her harness on and clipped everything in, obeying the doctor's words.

"You should too." Gabriel told Ratchet, arms crossed. The sniper hadn't even reached for his buckle. The medic narrowed his eyes at the sniper in warning, but the Brit didn't even flinch, let alone do as he was told. "Put. Your. Harness. On." Ratchet growled out slowly, as if Gabe was retarded and needed everything spelled out for him. The sniper raised an eyebrow, ready to retort, when Vlad reached over.

"Sniper will listen to docktor." The Russian stated sternly, and promptly forced the harness onto the stubborn mercenary. Gabby yelped, screamed and struggled, but Vladimir was too strong. Bobbi sighed and leaned back so she wasn't between the two, trying to stay out of their little struggle. She was happy for her helmet as Gabriel lashed out with his fists on more than one occasion and thwacked the side of her head, making the helmet vibrate and almost ring against her ears in protest.

Vlad finished with a grin of satisfaction, and sat back in his seat, pleased. Gabriel scowled from where the Russian had not only buckled him in, but had apparently used bungee cords to make him stay. Bobbi thought it best not to ask the large man why he needed bungee cords or saw fit to bring them with him on the mission.

She didn't feel like being bungee cord-ed to her seat. That sounded uncomfortable. "I hate you." Gabriel informed Vladimir pointedly. The giant bellowed with laughter, reached over, and ruffled the Brit's hair with one huge hand. "Vlad loves little sniper too." He replied with a toothy grin. Bobbi smiled widely at the show of affection. It had been too long since they were together like this, just joking around and having _fun._

Ratchet smirked a little, triumphant at having gotten his way, and leaned against his ambulance with his arms crossed. Bobbi raised an eyebrow at him, only to have it returned, that smirk still playing on his lips. For some reason, it made the mute's heart do a strange flip in her chest. In response, she mentally slapped herself and looked away from the doctor. Goddamn stupid medic, making her feel all confused and weird!

Gabriel wiggled, grunting, against the bungee cords around his wrists, head, waist and ankles, but couldn't get away. Scowling, he resigned himself to simply hang there and wait for the ride to be over. The sniper didn't look very happy about it, however.

Bobbi sighed through her nose at the man-child and began to unbuckle her helmet with skillful fingers, having worn the old thing for many, many years. "What is leetle medic doing?" Vlad questioned curiously, but received no answer from the mute. The giant continued to watch the small woman, but said nothing more.

The field medic bent forward and let the helmet fall into her hands. On the inside, at the top, two pictures were held in place with hot glue. One was old and of their old team. Vlad was grinning and hugging everyone else, a younger Bobbi was laughing and trying to shove him off playfully, Gabriel was telling him off… and a young man and woman, red head twins, hugged him back whilst grinning.

The other picture was a lot newer, being of Bobbi and her family. It had been taken about a year ago. Her father had an arm around her smiling mother, both getting on in their years and looking old. Sitting in front of them were their three children. The eldest, Bobbi, sitting in the middle with her helmet tucked under her arm, her two younger brothers, looking almost exactly like her, sat on either side of her grinning.

The mute smiled and reached down to touch the photos fondly before looking up at Vlad. She was close to Gabriel, yes, but she was even closer to Vladimir. The Russian looked down at her, head cocked to the side like a curious puppy. The field medic rolled her eyes and gestured with her hand for him to bend down. Vlad did so without question, amusement making his lips twitch into a smile. He grunted when Bobbi smacked the helmet down on his head and buckled it on smoothly.

"What…?" It took Vladimir a moment to realize she had put her beloved helmet _on _him. The Russian looked down at the mute with a soft seriousness, "Vladimir is honored. Will take good care of helmet until mission is over." He promised. This was Bobbi's way of making sure he was safe, and Vladimir was humbled by the gesture. Smiling, he reached over and ruffled the smiling woman's spiky brown hair.

Bobbi grinned, reached up, and threw his hand off. Vlad chuckled, and then they both reclined back and waited for the ride to be over. Gabriel pouted but said nothing. He had a phobia of flying, and being strapped in while flying. He had little choice however, no matter how much he hated the damn harness and bungee cords.

Ratchet rolled his eyes and stretched slightly, watching outside a window. Humans were strange.

Several hours of flying time passed. Bobbi found herself nodding off, and falling asleep. She slept through the plane's descent, and through the landing. She didn't even twitch when it came to a stop and opened its back hatch for them. The mute even continued to sleep while Vlad and Gabe got out of their seats and headed out. Bobbi only woke up when someone was shaking her shoulder insistently.

"...?" She blinked awake blearily and focused tiredly on the being looming over her. With a few more blinks, a severe looking Ratchet came into view, no longer blurry with sleep. "We've landed. Its time to go." He informed her. For a moment, Bobbi was confused, her sleep riddled brain forgetting where she was or what she was doing. Ratchet's warm hand on her shoulder felt _very _nice though…

The mute snapped up, almost knocking heads with the doctor. She would have if he hadn't of drawn back and let her go. Bobbi nodded to him to let him know she was on her way, and began to unbuckle herself. Satisfied, Ratchet patiently waited for her. Bobbi slipped out of her harness with ease and stood, scratching her now bare head. "Come on." The doctor grunted, and proceeded to walk out the hatch.

The mute looked around as she moved down the ramp after Ratchet, noting that everyone, and the vehicles, were outside. The moment Bobbi stepped off the metal, the ramp hissed upward and sealed itself shut. The mute blinked against the harsh sunlight with a silent groan of irritation. Why was the sun so bright again? Someone call the light people and tell them to turn the fucking sun down in intensity.

Large hands wrapped around her, and deposited her on a large, broad shoulder. Bobbi felt her body move instinctively so she was crouched and balancing on the fleshy platform with ease. When the spots in her vision cleared and she could see clearly, she found herself surrounded by forest, in a clearing with the vehicles and men standing around waiting. Bobbi rubbed her face tiredly, fully waking herself up in the process before focusing on the mission at hand. Being half asleep wouldn't help her succeed.

"Alrighty, I've got a plan." Gabriel grinned, "Bobbi, you're going to help me get to my snipin' spot. Your small and better at hidin' than these lugs. Once I'm there, I'm gonna check 'em all out with my scope and relay to you all how many and where the enemies are. Then Vlad and these two," Gabe gestured at the twins, "Will run in and start killing and causing general chaos. Bobbi will find and join them."

"What about docktor?" Vladimir looked down at Ratchet, who scowled at them all in turn,

"I thought that one was easy. Ol' doc's gonna stay here and protect our point. I don't want any unfriendlies waiting for us when we get back. I'll snipe people that try to creep up on ya'll or try to make a run for it, alright?"

"Good plan. Vladimir likes." The Russian grinned widely and Bobbi nodded, making a face as she felt naked without her helmet on.

"Let's get started then." Sideswipe grinned excitedly, and his anti-social twin grunted irritably. Ratchet leaned against his ambulance, looking annoyed, but said nothing. Bobbi leaped from Vlad's shoulder, and landed easily. "Be _careful_. I don't want to have to stitch any of you up." Ratchet's growl sent a shiver up Bobbi's spine. Oooooo, do that again- No! Bad Bobbi! She mentally slapped herself again.

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing." Gabby waved him off before crouching and moving into the foliage of the forest. Bobbi sighed heavily through her nose, nodded at the group behind her, then crouched and took off after Gabriel. She stuck close to him, slipping one of the handguns out and holding it loosely. It wouldn't do to accidently shoot poor Gabe in the ass because she jumped and had a twitchy trigger finger.

That had happened once before. The wrath of the sniper was one to be feared, if only because he knew everyone's weak points and where they slept. Remembering made Bobbi shiver and hunch down further. Finally, Gabriel stopped on the edge of the forest, peaking out of the cover everything provided. Bobbi moved over and knelt beside him, taking a look herself. "Here." The sniper muttered, and pressed a headset into her hands, "Everyone else got one while we were waitin' on ya'."

The mute shot him a thankful look and slipped the earpiece on. "Alright. See if you can find a good snipin' spot." Bobbi nodded at his words and started looking with him. The town was small and rather backwatered. The buildings were mostly wood and one story high, no more. The field medic nudged the Brit firmly. "What is it?" The mumble was kept quiet incase anyone was nearby. Bobbi pointed.

"I was just looking at that too. I think that may be the best spot." Gabriel nodded once with his quiet words. It was an old water tower. The only way up was a rusty metal ladder, and the cone shaped top would be easy to defend from. You could snipe from the top, and duck to the side, behind some of the metal, when they shot back. Not to mention you could just pick the enemy off as they attempted to get up the ladder.

"This is sniper reportin' in." Gabe muttered as he pushed the side of his earpiece, "We found a nice spot. Heading that way now." Bobbi blinked. She could hear his physical voice right beside her, and yet also hear his voice coming from the earpiece. "Proceed." Ratchet's voice replied quietly.

"Come on Bobs. We got a spot to get to." Gabriel muttered, and darted from the shadows of the forest towards the first building of the town not twenty feet away. The sniper hit the ground and rolled into the shadow of it just as one of the enemy walked past, humming a strange tune. Both of them held their breaths as he came closer and closer… and walked straight past Gabby, not even seeing the Brit.

Bobbi slumped with relief, then darted after Gabriel. She hit the ground, rolled, and came to a stop next to him, hair wild with the momentum. The sniper grinned cheekily at her before peeking around the corner. As he checked to see if the coast was clear, Bobbi looked upwards, noting that the sun was beginning to set. "Clear." Gabriel muttered, and darted off to the next building. Bobbi sidled up to the side and peered around the corner after him. The sniper was already crouching between two buildings, almost to the water tower.

The mute checked behind her, then ahead. She waited a moment until an enemy had passed, then bolted for the next spot. Once she was beside Gabriel, she pushed him back into the shadows just as another man walked past the opening, singing drunkenly in another language. He hiccuped and continued on, not even glancing at the alleyway. Bobbi sighed in relief and Gabriel patted her upper arm in thanks.

The tiny woman nodded, and proceeded to peek around the building. No one was around. Grunting, Bobbi threw herself around the corner and hauled ass to the water tower. She crouched behind one of the support beams. When Gabe peeked around after her, she gestured for him to come on. The sniper wasted no time darting for her, barely getting behind another support beam before a group of men, laughing and loud, came down the street.

They waited, breath held, until they passed on down the road. Bobbi let out her held breath harshly before motioning with her hand for Gabriel to start up the ladder. The Brit nodded before beginning his ascent, careful not to make any noise. Bobbi grabbed onto the ladder after he had gone up a bit, and headed after him.

Together, they reached the top, but Gabe stopped before he pulled himself up. Instead, he inhaled sharply and ducked behind the side of the water tower. Bobbi raised an eyebrow up at him in question. Gabriel glanced down at her looking disgruntled, his next mouthed words made her smack her hand against her forehead silently, 'There's an ass muncher up there!' Bobbi glared up at him before dragging a thumb across her throat, telling him to get rid of him. Honestly, he was a merc, he should know what to do by now! Besides, her hands were cold and going numb from holding on.

Gabe huffed, then hauled himself up onto the water tower silently, disappearing from her sight. Bobbi grimly pulled herself after him, slipping onto the metal roof. She would have to be careful, if she slipped and fell, she would likely break someone on impact with the ground nearly fifty feet down. Small for a water tower, but still very dangerous.

A soft thumping noise caught the mute's attention and she looked up. Gabriel had snapped the guard's neck, pulled the corpse away from the edge and dropped it by the point. The sniper grinned at Bobbi before crouching and getting into position with his gun, looking around with the scope. Bobbi knelt next to him, watching with curiosity at the tiny people below moving around the town, minding their own business.

"Sniper here. I'm in position. Get ready to bring the storm." Gabriel grinned as he spoke into the earpiece, beginning to note every enemy's position as he relayed his update. Bobbi shivered, unsure if it was from the cold or the grunt Ratchet replied with. "Boogies at every building, but a lot of 'em seem focused at the middle of the town." Gabe muttered into the mic, Bobbi listened intently as he continued to relay where they all were.

When he finished, the Brit grinned darkly, "So, is everyone ready for phase two?"

"Vlad cannot wait to crush teeny tiny men's skulls." The Russian rumbled excitedly in turn,

"Just give us the signal." Sideswipe sounded eager. Bobbi swallowed. They were about to kill a bunch of people. They were about to unleash hell on those people. How many would die? How many would they slaughter?

Could she protect her teammates? Bobbi shuddered at the thought of losing her old friends. But all thought was thrown out the door in the next moment, because there was no more time to think. Gabriel gave the signal.

"Go."

(More Ratchet! Even more in next chapter! :D Their getting closer! Bobbi is starting to fall for our favorite doctor! Too bad she isn't aware of it... *Ahem* Anyway, I don't own Transformers. I do, however, own my OC's and this plot. I want to thank all the people who reviewed previous chapters! It gives me such warm, fuzzy, tingly feelings!

Please review! I love reading the comments! Constructive criticism is welcome! Straight up flames are not.)


	6. Congratulations! You've Been Shot!

The town erupted very suddenly into confusion and startlement, and it became a battlefield within mere moments. Gabriel grinned, "God I love my job." the Brit crooned. Bobbi rolled her eyes, and practically threw herself towards the ladder to the ground. Swinging herself around, she grabbed onto either side of the ladder with both hands and feet, and slid down steadily. The mute reached the ground before she knew it, and was quick to let go.

Pointing her gun this way and that, Bobbi kept an eye out for enemies as she steadily jogged in the direction where she could hear Vlad's giant gun roaring defiantly as each bullet pounded out of it at a rapid pace. The Russian's gun was something of a custom weapon. It was a mini-machine gun, tailored to his size and strength, and devastating on the battlefield. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of those bullets.

Moving quickly yet quietly, Bobbi bolted between buildings as she raced for the giant she called her friend. The mute didn't fool herself into believing she was some amazing soldier who could take her enemies on without problem. She was tiny and she knew it. She also knew she wasn't the best at shooting, or hand-to-hand combat.

Bobbi had been trained to be a field medic. That was what she did best. She wasn't the hero, she was the soldier that fixed the heros up and sent them back on the field so they could do their job. The tiny woman knew she would be both safest, and most efficient on Vlad's shoulder. That's not saying she _couldn't_ hit someone with a bullet. She very well could, but she wasn't a killing machine like Vladimir, or a perfect shot like Gabriel.

No, the brunette knew her limits very well after five or so years in the military.

Whirling around a corner, Bobbi fired off two rounds out of reflex, killing the man who had been advancing on her spot. Clenching her teeth the medic raced for the next spot of cover, doing a sweep with her gun for the enemy.

In her ear, she could hear Vlad roaring and laughing as he fired his gun off, Gabriel muttering cuss words and telling the enemy to hold still, Ratchet getting on to the twins for 'being reckless' and the twins having a hay day tearing into the enemy lines in another part of town. Grinning, adrenaline pumping, heart beating wildly like a hummingbird's wings, Bobbi raced down the street with all the speed she possessed.

Breathing heavily, the medic whipped around another building and caught sight of Vlad's huge figure mowing the enemy down. Their foes were still surprised by the sudden assault, and most were still scrambling for weapons. Clearly they had let their guard down after going so long without an attack. It would be their undoing.

Spurred on by the sight of her safe spot and adrenaline, Bobbi raced to Vladimir, shooting anyone that wasn't one of the friendlies. Distantly, beyond the sound of her heart pounding desperately, she heard Gabe warning Vlad that she was coming so she wouldn't startle the terrifying giant.

Reaching Vlad, Bobbi jumped, feet touching the mighty soldier's belt before kicking off, straight up. Acting quickly, she grabbed onto his shoulders- having slight trouble due to the gun in her right hand- and hauled herself up the six foot four muscle ridden Russian man.

Grunting and snarling silently, Bobbi fixated herself on his shoulder and began the familiar, age old routine she knew so well. Scan back and forth, shoot anyone getting too close from the sides or back, scan again, repeat.

Time seemed to pass in slow motion, and at light speed all at once. Especially after the enemy finally got themselves together and returned fire with a vengeance. Bobbi hunched down against Vlad's shoulder, practically fusing with him as she fired her gun off. Being on the giant's shoulder made her one hell of a target. Vladimir, to his credit, didn't seem at all fearful of the bullets whizzing around his head as they aimed for the little medic.

In fact, he seemed quite pissed off at them. He fired off more bullets, roaring out his rage. Bobbi's blood turned to ice as a shriek of agony echoed over the earpiece, her mind registering it as Gabriel's voice. "SNIPER! WHAT IS WRONG?!" Vlad had to scream to be heard over his monstrous gun.

"Don't worry! Its just a scratch. The bloody ass munchers have a git of a sniper. I'm gonna put a bullet in his head." Gabe informed them heatedly with a growl,

"SNIPER _WILL _BE MORE CAREFUL!" Vladimir practically threatened,

"Yeah, yeah, got it ya big lug… HAH! Got 'im! Take that, asshat." The smugness in Gabriel's voice brought relief to Bobbi. If he could be smug about a good hit, then he was alright. If he couldn't, he needed serious help.

"You better see me after the battle. You still need patched up." Ratchet spoke up gruffly, "You'd best wrap it for now and staunch the blood flow."

"Got'cha doc. I'm all over that." the cranky sniper informed the doctor sarcastically, but seemed to do what he was told, if the ripping noise Bobbi caught was any indication. Ratchet let out a warning growl but went back to berating the twins.

Dust was thrown up with every shot fired, dirtying everyone and everything with its very presence. Vlad roared in pain as a lucky shot hit him in the hip, but he didn't stop or even slow down. He didn't even seemed fazed. "Giant?!" Gabe yelled the nickname in slight panic as he shot the man that had hit Vladimir, making blood explode from the side of the man's head and his body drop like a rock.

For Vlad, the bullet wound was probably like a papercut.

"Giant is fine! No big deal, small nick!" Vlad stopped firing a moment to reply before starting up again, Bobbi clenched her teeth in fear. They were hurt. Stubbornly, she shoved it down. In training, her instructors had been very clear in several points. One of the being, 'You are a soldier first and a medic second. Deal with the enemy, then patch them up. Or, if your comrade has fallen and can't get up, drag them to a safe spot and patch them up before returning to the fight- take out any enemies you can on the way.'

So she swallowed her fear and panic, her _need _to patch them up, and squeezed off several more rounds.

"Good job gentlemen and ladies! We've got them on the run and most of them are dead!" Gabby cheered, then he hissed, "Shit. One of 'em's getting away with some kinda briefcase! BOBS!" The field medic nodded quickly at that and launched herself off of Vlad's shoulder. The twins were no doubt locked in combat and Vlad wasn't the fastest, especially with his huge gun that weighed half a ton and that bullet wound.

"Bobs has it! He's to your right, up ahead!" The brunette switched courses, legs pumping quickly, feet pounding against the ground fiercely.

"Don't let him get away!" Ratchet barked, and Bobbi forced her legs to move faster, ignoring the burn in her side, the tightening of her chest, and her screaming muscles. 'Need to stop him, need to stop him, need to stop him.' The thought repeated itself over and over again, like a mantra. It pushed her on further.

Behind her, she could hear the twins covering her, Sideswipe yelling that they had her back. Gratitude warmed her chest. Bobbi didn't feel like getting shot today. Throwing one leg out to brace herself, she whipped around a corner sharply, gaining on the man Gabriel mentioned. Bobbi could see him now, his hair covered by a kerchief, a briefcase clutched to his chest. Keeping the pace up, she lifted her gun to fire.

Several things happened at once. Sideswipe yelled something desperately, Gabriel screamed her name, Bobbi took careful aim and squeezed the trigger- and two shots went off at the same time, but only one from her gun. Blood exploded from the man's head like rose petals, falling to the ground and his body fell. A triumphant grin spread across the brunette's face… and then she realized pain was blossoming through her chest.

Stumbling to a stop, Bobbi slowly looked downwards in confusion. Pretty crimson red was spreading like wildfire across the left side of her chest from a very apparent hole. 'I've… been shot...' The thought was disconnected, strange. The bullet had hit and gone through. Slowly, her knees gave out, and then she hit her front. Bobbi's brow furrowed as she laid on her front in a daze. The twins, weren't they covering her.

Gun… where was her gun? Weak fingers registered that the hunk of metal was still in her grasp. Slowly, Bobbi realized several people were screaming. How long had they been screaming. "Dammit! We're on our way! Hold on!" Sideswipe, that was Sideswipe,

"You better not die on us fleshy! Ratchet will have our helms!" A snarl. Sunstreaker most likely,

"DOCKTOR! MEDIC! SOMEONE HELP LEETLE DOCKTOR!" Vlad was bellowing,

"Fucking son of a wanker's git! You stay with us, you hear me?! You're not allowed to leave, dammit!" Then there was Gabriel. He was screeching.

But the voice Bobbi registered best, was the gruff one of Ratchet. "Stop the bleeding! Bobbi! LISTEN TO ME! You need to stop the bleeding! ANSWER ME!" The doctor was in a panicked fit, blearily, fuzzily, Bobbi noted it was the first time he had called her by her first name and not 'Miss Bellmark'. "Such a stupid girl. Now you're going to die." Confused brown orbs looked towards the voice.

They connected with black boots, then began to look up, vision unfocused and wavering. They came in contact with the barrel of gun that was pointed at her head, then continued up to meet a pair of icy blue eyes, dull with hatred. Icy and cold. Not like Ratchet's, Ratchet's were warm and kind. Soft and gentle. The thoughts were half formed and disconnected in Bobbi's head. She was so confused. What was going on again…?

She choked and spat out blood, allowing it to splatter out over her chin and the ground. Had the bullet pierced her lung…? She didn't know. She didn't know anything. The man grinned and cocked the safety off, enjoying having the tiny woman at his mercy. "Say your prayers." He informed her with a snicker. Prayers? No, she wasn't going to die. Determination flared in Bobbi. Speed decided the next few moments.

They both pulled the trigger, but Bobbi was just a heart's flutter faster. She didn't even flinch as his head suddenly gained a new hole, or as he jerked, gun going off, and missing her by mere inches. His body hit the floor, and she stared at it for a moment, not quite comprehending what had just happened. At this point, Bobbi's body was reacting more out of instinct than any sort of logic or reasoning.

Bobbi could still hear them screaming in her ear, but couldn't make anything out. Her hearing was starting to turn fuzzy and unclear. Weakly, she raised her head, and caught sight of the briefcase the man had been carrying with him. Slowly, Bobbi started to connect dots in her head. The man had been trying to escape with that. Obviously it was important if he was trying to get it away from them.

Her superiors would want to see it. She had a job to do, this was her job. Her father would be very disappointed if she didn't do her job and got kicked out of the military.

So, body resenting movement and silently whimpering, Bobbi used her right hand to try and stop the flow of blood from her chest, practically stuffing her fingers into the gaping hole the bullet had left. Then, tiredly pulling herself together, she began to half army-crawl, half drag herself towards her objective five feet away.

Left arm over tucked in right arm, pathetically shove self forward with right arm, then repeat. Practically sobbing, Bobbi forced herself onward, fixated on that black briefcase. Her determined, one tracked, focused mind urging her on. Somewhere along the way, she had lost her hearing, and could no longer hear anything but a soft buzzing noise. Clenching her jaw, Bobbi determinedly pressed on.

It felt like an eternity of crawling and dragging before she finally reached the case. When she did, Bobbi let out a relieved sob and grabbed it with one weak hand, slicked with blood. How it had gotten onto her left hand, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had her objective. She had it and she wasn't going to let go of it.

Breathing hard, clutching the handle of the briefcase, Bobbi rested for a moment. Everything was so blurry and confusing. Things kept shifting and black was creeping in around her vision. Drawing from the last of her strength, the mute weakly, pitifully managed to roll herself over onto her back. Hysteria bubbled in her chest, making her laugh silently. She had been shot. She had a bloody HOLE in her chest.

For some reason unknown to her, Bobbi found that to be hilarious. Grinning, she stared at the sky, feeling triumphant. She simply laid there staring, eyes slowly closing with each passing blink, until her world was jarred harshly. Bobbi blinked dumbly up at a pair of glowing blue eyes and black, red streaked hair. She had no idea her world could be moved that quickly. Weakly, Bobbi licked her dry lips and tried to speak.

Sideswipe was yelling something, his brow furrowed and fear in his eyes, but Bobbi couldn't figure out for the life of her what he was saying. She noted his twin over his shoulder, but her vision was too blurry to make him out. Sideswipe was suddenly shoved to the side, and Vlad was scooping her up in his large hands.

Bobbi clenched her teeth as he picked her up. Fiery pain scorched her chest and back, and a strain unlike anything else was suddenly put on her very numb left arm. Vlad picked up the said arm and laid it over her waist, the briefcase resting against his chest. Bobbi refused to let it go. Vlad bellowed something and began to charge in the opposite direction. The mute shut her eyes tightly against the jarring sensations of his running.

She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep. Not until she got that briefcase to the plane. The brunette moaned silently in pain, not enjoying the bouncing sensation of Vlad running at full speed.

The mute hissed through clenched teeth as she was suddenly laid on something soft, disturbing her bullet wound. Familiar warm hands suddenly started touching the wound and prodding at it around her fingers. Exhausted, Bobbi blinked her eyes open, bleak vision clearing. Slowly, Ratchet came into focus.

He was leaning over her, expression intent yet panicky and concerned. His lips moved but the words were lost to Bobbi. She smiled giddily up at him, she had missed his bright blue eyes. They were pretty. She frowned, what was he saying? Something told her it was important. Bobbi wished she could hear him. His voice was nice. Gruff and low… sexy. Ratchet's soft, warm hand removed her fingers from her bullet wound with a gentle, yet firm grip.

Someone took the briefcase from Bobbi's clenched hand, and she let them. She was safe now, it was in the plane. Everything was okay now. Her now free left weakly raised itself to the gruff, battle worn doctor, who hesitated in confusion at the action. Bobbi felt a tender smile at the furrowed brow and quirked edge of his mouth. She wanted to cup his cheek, but she misjudged the distance and her strength, and her hand faltered.

Bobbi's hands fell against his chin limply, and her thumb touched his bottom lip. She couldn't see his expression anymore, her vision leaving her. His lip was soft under her touch. Bobbi opened her mouth, brow furrowing. She had to tell him something important. But what? She couldn't remember. She couldn't… remem... Her hand fell from Ratchet's face, falling against the soft surface beneath her.

Her thoughts faded, her eyes closed, and she let the darkness envelope her.

(*Le gasp* What is this? Dramatic romance? Oh my! Ratchet and Bobbi grow a little closer! Poor Bobs, she's so out of it when she's injured. Anyway, the next chapter may be a little slow! Why you may ask? Well I'm turning 16 this weekend! That's right folks! I'm getting OLD! XD Don't worry though! I'll still work on the next chappy!

Thank all of you for your kind reviews! I love them all!

Please review and let me know your thoughts! What do you think of Bobbi? Of Gabriel and his cranky, smug, British-ness?

Now! Off to work on the next chapter!)


	7. Misadventures In The Med Bay

Darkness can be frightening. Not because it is dark and obscures your sight. Nor because of the silence that echos from it. No, darkness is frightening because of the evil, terrible things it hides from us. Those things that growl and swipe at us, baring their teeth and threatening to eat us.

For Bobbi, it was a gentle blanket. Her security against the world. A wall of safety. And she loved it, clinging to it like a scared child. Hiding from the pain and stress of reality just outside.

Until a soft, steady beeping noise tore through that blanket like a knife, leaving the tatters to hang limply at the edges and let the light spill in. Bobbi didn't want to wake up. She really, really didn't want to. But she could hear the outside world calling, and could feel it tugging at her. So, groaning, she began to rise from her slumber.

The first thing she noticed when rising from sleep was the unbearable _pain_. It was numbed, but still there. Burning and spreading like a fire left unchecked. Working her jaw and making it pop, Bobbi slowly began to come around. Slowly, she opened her eyes, which took a bit since they were rather… stuck.

While sleeping, her eyes had crusted slightly, and so it was a pain to open them. After she had them open, she carefully raised her hands and used her palms to clean them out firmly before taking in her surroundings. There was an IV in her arm, and she was hooked up to a machine that seemed to be monitoring her heart beat. Bobbi frowned, so that was what the annoying beeping noise was coming from.

That damn thing woke her up! Silently grumbling, the mute twisted her head to examine her surroundings better.

Oh. She was in the med bay. Just fucking brilliant. Bobbi scowled, it was white and smelled of antiseptic. Although, there was a strange smell that was calming and pleasant. Inhaling deeply, the mute savored it for a moment before bracing her hands on either side of her and slowly pushing herself up into a sitting position. The pain flared throughout her body in an agonizing reminder that she was injured.

Clenching her jaw, Bobbi managed to work herself into a sitting position, and then promptly slumped back against the wall behind her. A quiet, steady breath left her lungs in a 'woosh' of air as she relaxed for a moment, resting. Then, grimacing, she carefully folded the military standard medical blanket back away from her chest and down to her waist.

The mute cocked her head to the side. Her entire chest was wrapped in a thick gauze, bare of anything besides those pristine, glimmering bandages. Bobbi raised an eyebrow. Was that really what was causing all the fuss and pain? One little hole? Sure it had entered her chest and gone straight through, exiting on the other side… but one little injury from the battlefield had her laid up like this?

It was sobering. A reminder that she was still _human_. Still mortal and capable of dying. Her life was fragile. Bobbi closed her eyes in a moment of thankfulness. She was here. She was alive. And it was most likely thanks to Ratchet that she was still up and moving. "Leetle docktor is awake, Gabby." The familiar rumbling Russian voice made her head jerk up, eyes opening to find the owner of the voice.

Vladimir sat propped up on his butt against the wall on the bed across from her. His hip was bandaged up, but not as much as Bobbi's chest and he had her helmet in his hands, cradling it like a child. "Don't call me that you lard iron ass!" Gabriel was quick with his retort, eyes narrowed at the Russian from where he was on the giant's right, sitting on his own bed and looking downright annoyed. White gauze covered the top of his right shoulder. It looked as though the bullet had merely grazed him.

Once he was certain the Russian knew he didn't like the nickname, Gabriel turned and grinned at Bobbi awkwardly. "Morning sleeping beauty. How do you feel?" Bobbi rolled her eyes in response to his question, her body aching and too exhausted to do much. Gabe chuckled at her annoyed look, "You gave us all a right good scare. If that damn cock muncher wasn't already dead… ooooooh…" The Brit's nose wrinkled in a snarl and he bared his teeth, obviously pissed off at the man that was already dead.

"Sniper would have to share." Vlad warned, a certain gleam in his eye that would make any man, woman or child shrink back in fear and hide their faces. Making the giant angry was a very, _very _bad idea. You weren't likely to survive, and only bits and pieces of you would be found. Bobbi shivered at the tone in his voice and the threat hidden in his eyes.

"If you can grab a hold of the bloody git with your bare hands 'fore I put a goddamn hole in his head, then be my guest." Gabriel sneered, and Vladimir merely waved a hand, dismissing the cranky younger man. The motion seemed to remind the Russian of the helmet he still held in his hand, "Oh!" The big man grinned and started to slip off the bed with the precious article of clothing. He touched the ground and stood.

Bobbi blinked, watching as he slowly swayed for a moment, gaining his balance. Satisfied with his center of balance, the Russian began to shuffle his way over to her, mindful of his own bullet wound, holding the helmet close. "Vlad wanted to give leetle docktor helmet as soon as battle was over, but leetle docktor was out for almost two days…" Vlad seemed almost shy as he came to a stop beside her, "So Vlad will give teeny tiny medic helmet now." He then held the helmet out, and stuck it on her head, much like she had done to him before the mission had started. But Vlad had misjudged his own strength.

Not flinching in the least, Bobbi blinked away stars from being brained by her own helmet. Vladimir hadn't meant to hurt her, she knew that, the big man just didn't know his own strength sometimes. Tilting her head back, the mute grinned at the giant in gratitude and thanks. Vlad took advantage of her tilted head and buckled the helmet onto her. The giant grinned back at her, then lumbered back over to his bed to sit back down.

Gabriel grunted, "You would not _believe _how protective he was of that damned thing. Wouldn't even let anyone that came to visit _see _it."

"Would be tempted to steal." Vladimir told him stubbornly, and Bobbi fought back the giggles rising in her chest at the adorable giant. She bobbed her head in Vlad's direction, trying to convey her thankfulness.

"Right, right. Whatever. Now that that's dealt with… Bobs, I gotta favor to ask!" Gabe slapped his hands together as if he was going to pray- Bobbi snorted at the thought, Gabriel laughed at the thought of there being a God of any sort- and bowed his head. He was begging. Gabby didn't beg. He was too proud. Raising an eyebrow, a now curious Bobbi tilted her head at the British sniper that was practically groveling into his bed.

"Ya gotta introduce me to him!" Gray eyes focused on brown one's pleadingly. Bobbi's brow furrowed and she cocked her head to the other side in confusion. "That black haired fellow on your team. He's got glasses?" Gabriel pleaded and the mute blinked in registration. He was talking about Evan. Suddenly, it all clicked and Bobbi couldn't contain her silent laughter. The sniper scowled at her but said nothing.

Bobbi couldn't help it though! The cranky, stubborn, hard-ass of a Brit had been _hit _by Cupid! Either Cupid had beat him upside the head repeatedly with his love shovel, or Gabe had been hit by a few dozen extra strength arrows. The mute had known for a very long time about how Gabby was bisexual, but the sniper had always been very distant from everyone around him and too prideful to tell anyone he took a liking to that he liked them.

This was very different, and Bobbi especially found it to be amusing as hell. Vlad rumbled along with the tiny woman, silently agreeing with her. Slowly, Bobbi calmed, taking deep breaths to stop her laughter and slow her heart. Laughter put one hell of a strain on her chest, and it hurt. After a moment, the pain faded and she was calm. "Are you done now?" Gabriel's arms were crossed and he was practically sulking, his bottom lip pushed out slightly.

Bobbi bit back a grin and nodded. "Then could you do it? Introduce us?" Gabe leaned forward, looking excited. The mute paused a moment and pretended to think, making the sniper scowl again in irritation. Finally, the tiny woman smirked and nodded, making the Brit grin and lean back, a bright joyous twinkle in his eyes.

The sound of footsteps made them all quiet down. Bobbi witnessed Gabriel practically melting into the wall and his bed, paling in something akin to fear as Ratchet rounded the corner with a clipboard in hand. He was looking down at it and scribbling on it with a ballpoint pen, his brow furrowed with intent concentration. Cute- No! Mental slap to the face! Bad Bobbi! The mute silently scolded herself.

He was her _superior._ That was wrong on so many levels. Besides, she was here to do a job, nothing else. She couldn't afford to fuck this up.

Oh, but it was _so hard _to keep that in mind. Especially when those electric blue, glowing eyes looked up from the paper, looked over her old friends, and then… focused on _her._ Bobbi felt pinned by his stare. As if Ratchet was able to keep her in place with a single look, and see into the deepest, darkest parts of her soul. A shiver ran up her spine in response and her heart did a little flip in her chest.

What the hell was going on with her?

"Oh good, you're awake." Ratchet spoke even as he moved closer to Bobbi's bedside, "How are you feeling? You probably need another dose of pain medication."

"Bobs said she's feeling like shit." Gabe piped up. From what Bobbi could tell, he didn't like the doctor at all, and was purposely trying to piss him off.

"Did she now?" Ratchet questioned in deceptive calmness,

"Yup."

"Well, thats too bad. Because I asked _her_. Not _you._ So, Miss Bellmark, how are you feeling?" Ratchet put Gabriel down and repeated himself all in the same sentence, causing the sniper to scowl angrily at the doctor.

Bobbi raised a hand and flip flopped it back and forth in a 'so-so' guester. Ratchet nodded slowly as he looked back down at the clipboard for a moment, "I'll give you a shot of pain medication in a moment and you should feel a bit better." The doctor told her, "Now, there are several people who wanted to see you the moment you woke up. Do you feel up to some visitors?"

Why did he have to have such a gruff voice? It was sexy as hell. No one should have a voice like that. Bobbi shivered, then mentally slapped herself.

Answer his question, stupid! The mental command threw her into action. The mute nodded in response, fairly sure she could handle a few people. Ratchet nodded sharply, turned on his heel, and left. Gabriel sneered at his retreating back, to which Vlad hit him upside the head gently for. Bobbi could only feel as if a hole had opened up with his presence gone. She shook herself free of the strange thoughts and drew the blanket up over her chest, feeling cold.

Two minutes. Bobbi had sat there quietly for a whole of _two minutes _before yelling and arguing could be heard near the entrance of the med bay. Then Ratchet's voice boomed over them all and told them to either shut up or get the 'frag' out of his med bay. The loud voices died down to mere mumbles and shuffling noises before they came into Bobbi's sight. Her teammates were looking properly chastened.

Until they saw her.

Evan stayed calm and moved at a steady pace whilst pushing his glasses back up, Larry grinned and waved, moving a little faster than Evan- but neither could match the… _enthusiasm _John and Tammy put forth. "BOBBI!" Shrieking like a banshee and making the brunette wince at the pitch, the blonde practically dived for the bedridden woman, the red head male right on her heels with the assault.

Bobbi's eyes widened and she threw her arms up to hopefully somewhat protect herself from their much larger frames, aware that their impact was going to hurt like a _bitch._ Clenching her eyes shut, she braced herself.

The sound of bodies colliding, yelping, and the lack of pain made Bobbi open her eyes slowly, suspiciously. Lowering her arms, the mute lifted her head to check and see where the noises had come from. Ratchet was standing in front of her bed, his thin willowy frame, lean yet not very muscled compared to others was easily holding Tammy and John back. He had caught Tammy in the stomach, so she dangled over his arm, and John had simply ran into the other arm and fell back on his rump.

"Don't. Rough-house. In. My. Med bay." The doctor told them slowly, "Behave and visit, or _I throw you out." _And then he dropped Tammy. Vlad just blinked, not even surprised by Ratchet's speed, but Gabriel and the rest of Bobbi's team gapped at him openly. The mute herself blinked for a moment, feeling grateful towards the man, yet curious. It wasn't her business, no, it wasn't. But honestly, how had he managed to stop them? Ratchet was tall and lean, slightly muscled certainly.

But he was a medic, not a soldier like John and Tammy. They should have been able to bowl right over him, and yet he had stopped them as easily as he would a pair of rowdy children that were smaller than him. Oblivious to the mute's thoughts, Ratchet leaned down to glare at the two hyperactive knuckleheads better, "Am I understood?" His voice and eyes were cold and stern. Their head bobbed up and down so fast that Bobbi absentmindedly wondered if they would fly off. Honestly, they looked like bobble heads.

Pleased, Ratchet straightened up, checked over his shoulder to make sure Bobbi was still in her bed and wrapped up, and then left the group to their own devices.

Tammy slowly stood, rubbing her stomach, wide eyes checking for the doctor she now deemed as 'crazy'. "He's scary." John whispered, his eyes huge as he slowly wiggled on the floor towards Bobbi's bed. Evan rolled his eyes while Larry laughed, and the two headed over at an easy pace. "You two shouldn't have ran." The blackette told them firmly as he came to stand at the foot of Bobbi's bed.

Gabriel's face gained a slightly goofy smile that he fought to reign in, to which Bobbi had to bite back her own grin.

"Sorry Bobbi." Tammy mumbled sadly, and sat on the side of her bed with a pout. John peeked up over the side of her bed, his head near the blonde's leg. Bobbi simply nodded, attempting to show Tammy that it was alright before staring intently at John.

Who stared back.

The brewing staring contest was broken by Larry coughing into a fist, "So, how are you feeling?" The mute scowled. Really? She'd been asked that _three times _already! Frustrated, she looked around Larry and looked straight at Gabriel. The sniper seemed to get the message and cleared his throat, "Bobs said earlier that she was feeling alright." The Brit pitched in, and Larry nodded thoughtfully.

"Its good that you're feeling well. But please, don't strain yourself." Evan told her, leaning on the end of her bed slightly. Gabriel looked like he was on cloud nine, making Bobbi resist the laughter bubbling in her chest. _Oh, _he had it bad.

Holding true to her word, Bobbi waved a hand and caught everyone's attention. She didn't know if they used sign language, but she decided to give it a try. Signing slowly, she proceeded to introduce Gabriel to them, and them to Gabriel. When she stopped, she realized they were all staring at her like she was an alien.

Bobbi slapped her palm to her face in an act of pure anguish and annoyance.

Damn those bigwigs! They stuck her in a group where _no one _knew sign language! All the more reason to only use it at home with her family!

But then Vladimir came as her saving grace, "Leetle docktor is speaking sign language. Vlad will translate." The Russian informed the team, then did as he had promised. By the end of it, Gabriel was slightly puffed up and trying to look impressive and the group was looking at him curiously. The sniper didn't care what they thought of him, save for one of them, and Bobbi knew he was subtly watching the man to see his reaction.

"...He looks like one of those stuck up, boring Brits." Evan stated bluntly, pushing his glasses up. Gabe looked like the life had been sucked out of him, his mouth open in a gape. Slowly, he fell over on his front, laid out on his bed. "Er… is he alright?" John looked unsure,

"Leetle sniper is just fine." Vlad assured them with a smile and a chuckle,

"Stuck… up… boring... Brit…" Gabby slowly whispered in horror, repeating Evan's words.

Bobbi felt simultaneously sorry for the poor sniper and like laughing at his situation. He had always been prideful and stuck up, so the mute saw this as a sort of bite in the ass from Karma. Really, he had it coming to him.

She visited with her teammates for a little bit before they had to leave, but not before they promised her they would visit later. The whole time, Gabriel didn't even lift himself from his laid down position, wallowing in his own pity. Bobbi bit back her smile. Poor guy. He was taking Evan's words rather harshly.

Once her team was gone, Bobbi slumped back into her bed tiredly. As if he had some sixth sense, Ratchet suddenly flew around the corner with a syringe in hand. Gabriel didn't even acknowledge his presence, even when the doctor was right at Bobbi's bedside. The Brit was just too deeply sucked into his own gloom.

The mute blinked up at Ratchet as he took her arm and injected the pain medication. She didn't have a problem with needles, never had, really. So in all honesty, she just let him do what he needed to. "Get some sleep." Ratchet muttered gruffly, then swept off to do something else. Bobbi yawned and turned over on her side, listening to the doctor. It was always wisest to do so when in their domain, after all.

As she drifted off to sleep, Vladimir began poking Gabriel in the head with a large meaty finger.

Lennox scowled, drumming his fingers on the rail that separated him from a long fall to the ground, "Dammit! How'd this get past us? We screened everyone!" the major growled and ran a hand through his short, light brown hair, frustrated and at his wits end. Optimus rumbled comfortingly, optics wise and displaying a deep amount of concern.

"Your fears are understood, Major. However, the fact still remains that there is a traitor among us, as is stated by the information in the briefcase Miss Bellmark acquired." The metal being told him,  
>"And it's one of the newcomers, if the dates are right. So it's in Miss Bellmark's group." Ratchet stated grimly,<p>

"If not her herself." Ironhide scoffed,

"I don't think its her." Sideswipe shook his head with a frown, and Sunstreaker grunted in agreement.

"For now, let us watch them and try to discern which one it is. However, do not jump to conclusions. The others could very well be innocent." Optimus warned them, "We will find this traitor with time, and we will discover what all they know."

"But Optimus, if they're working with the Decepticons-" Ironhide began,

"All will be well. We will put a stop to this." Optimus told him sternly,

"I'll keep an eye on Miss Bellmark's status." Ratchet grumbled, worry gnawing at his mind,

"Thank you, old friend." Optimus rumbled, and the doctor nodded in reply.

But the question remained. Who was the traitor?

(Look! A wild update! :D Yes, I am enjoying my birthday, and yes, I am bored. So I wrote more!

Bobbi is oblivious to her own affections! Ratchet is... Ratchet! Vlad is a good man! And Gabriel... is in love? O.o

Don't worry you Yaoi sensitive people! They are most definitely a side pairing! Our focus is Bobbi/Ratchet so its more of a passing side event! However, I plan on doing a oneshot featuring Gabriel and Evan, but ya'll can just leave that to sit and rot on my profile if your not interested. XD

*Le Gasp* A traitor in their midst?! Who could it be?! Dastardly plans are forming, whatever shall we do?!

Please review and leave your thoughts! My question for this chapter: Who do YOU think the traitor is?)


	8. Stretched Too Thin

Being stuck in the med bay can start to drive one crazy. Especially if you've stayed in there for three days straight. And you happen to be a workaholic. With your only company being a very gruff doctor that isn't up for talking or the occasional visitor that braved the 'evil' doctor's lair to see her. Not that Bobbi _could _'talk' if he were to actually initiate conversation, but he seemed very busy and immersed in his work ninety percent of the time.

Ratchet was always flying around the med bay, doing this or that in a flurry of efficient movement. And when he wasn't, he was running out the door cursing 'Wheeljack to the pit for blowing his fragging self up yet _again_'.

Bobbi was slowly losing her mind. The first day was alright. Vladimir and Gabriel were released from Ratchet's clutches, Vlad with the promise that he would stay in his quarters, use the crutches Ratchet gave him, and be careful. Bobbi couldn't help but to feel sorry for those poor crutches. Vlad was _heavy_.

Larry was kind enough to bring her a puzzle, brushing it off as 'Tammy's idea'. The mute was still grateful and did her best to convey it to him. Larry had huffed, cheeks warming slightly, and had hurried out the door. Bobbi had grinned after the anti-social man. Poor guy didn't know how to handle a compliment or a 'thank-you'.

The second day, she had finished the puzzle and Ratchet only came over to give her pain medication and hand her a small container of ointment he said to put on the hole that would help it heal faster. Bobbi scowled down at her hands. She had applied the ointment, and was now out of things to do. Her body _ached _to do _something_, anything!

Yet anytime she even turned her body to throw her legs over the side of the bed- Ratchet's head would snap around and he would stare intently at her until she slowly turned back into the bed with her legs tucked in, his intent gaze never leaving her.

She would scowl. He would smirk.

The third day was when things got interesting. It had been silent for the first third or so of the day. Ratchet had been leaning over his desk, working on something, when he suddenly stiffened. After a moment he started cussing up a storm using strange words like 'frag', 'slag', 'glitch', 'aft' and a few others, leaving Bobbi very confused. "Stay there! Don't get out of bed!" Ratchet pointed a finger at her threateningly before bolting from the room as if hell itself were chasing after him.

Bobbi blinked after him in confusion. 'O...kay…?'

After the first hour of Ratchet's sudden departure, Bobbi decided she _could not _stay still any long, lest she go mad. So, constantly checking over her shoulder for the evil doctor, the mute began to clean the med bay. Or rather, re-organize everything to a certain degree. Certainly, she left the things on the shelves where they belonged, she just made neat and orderly rows out of them. She fluffed and remade beds, and even stacked Ratchet's papers nice and neat like on his desk from where they had scattered everywhere in his departure. When she finished, Bobbi noted there was nothing else for her to do.

But the tiny woman dared not leave the med bay. That would certainly get her head on the chopping block, if this itself wouldn't do the trick. Still, Bobbi did not regret her actions. It felt _good _to move around after so long, even if it did leave a certain burning sensation in her chest. Though the pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when she had first woken three days prior. And it was all that _stupid _briefcases fault!

Huffing, Bobbi carefully crawled back into her med bed, irritated. Really, what was so important in that damned thing anyway? Was it worth getting shot in the chest over? She supposed she would never know. It wasn't her place to. So, leaning back against the wall, Bobbi settled in to wait for Ratchet's return.

Several hours passed. To be honest, Bobbi halfway fell asleep, dozing against the wall within the first two. When the door to the med bay opened, years of military training and drill sergeants creeping into the barracks to scream at the recruits suddenly and startle them out of sleep allowed Bobbi to snap awake. She lifted her head up, curious as to what was going on. Ratchet halfway stumbled in, looking out of it.

Like he was trying to snap himself out of something, and yet… _grieving_.

Alarm and concern seared through Bobbi's chest as the doctor stumbled and caught himself on the edge of his desk with both his hands, his brow furrowed. He didn't even look concerned let alone notice as he sent his mug full of pens and pencils crashing to the floor, causing the glass mug to shatter and send dangerous shards of white porcelain scattering everywhere. Something bad had happened, because Ratchet _never _acted like that.

Pushing the bed covers back- itchy damn things- Bobbi got to her feet and headed over slowly, her bare feet making no noise against the metal of the med bay floor. Ratchet's head was lowered as he leaned against his desk heavily. White, red streaked hair fell around his face, obscuring it from her view.

He didn't even look up when she stopped at his side, mindful of the glass shards. Ratchet only flinched slightly when Bobbi raised a hand to his shoulder, gently laying it there. Blue eyes connected with her brown ones as he tilted his head to look at her. They were dull. Impossibly dull and dark. Lifeless. So unlike how they had been earlier. It was like he had been drained and dropped down to lay among the dead.

Bobbi's brow furrowed as she raised her eyebrows in a concerned, inquisitive, using her free hand to gently poke at his chest in a silent question, pressing the spot above where his heart would be. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Ratchet murmured, his voice husky with pain, eyes glazing over slightly as he seemed to remember something.

'Bullshit.' Bobbi mouthed, scowling, and pushed a little harder at his chest, insisting.

"There's nothing you can do. Just leave it be." The doctor murmured, eyes closing. The mute clenched her teeth, and raised her hand. For a moment, she thought she would slap him, not understanding her own actions. Bobbi surprised herself when the hand gently cupped his face, making him look at her.

Dead yet confused eyes opened to look at her. Bobbi felt her features soften- he was _hurting._ Bad.

She raised her other hand to cup the other side of his face, then leaned in to touch her forehead to his. 'I can listen. I can provide comfort. I won't judge you. I can help.' The words, so carefully mouthed in silence, caused his walls to start to fall. Agony sparked within those blue orbs, life flickering at the depths of them. "You should be in bed." The murmur was an excuse. A weak one. A last ditch effort to keep her away while his heart broke and he beat on himself. And Bobbi _knew _it. They both did.

Bobbi merely nodded her head, as if agreeing with him, then gently slid her hands from his face. For a moment, Ratchet entertained the idea that she was leaving to go lay back down and leave him alone. That idea was squashed when she wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him firmly, not letting go.

The mute didn't know why she did it. Only that he was hurting so bad she could feel it rolling off of him in waves, and she wanted to make it stop. For some reason, Bobbi didn't want him to hurt. She didn't want him to experience this sort of agony. Her heart ached for him, chest tightening as she thought of what might've happened.

Slowly, large, masculine arms wrapped around her in response. Ratchet didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Carefully, Bobbi pulled them both over to the wall, away from the glass where they could get cut up. Ratchet followed her willingly, shuffling along slightly. Once they got to the wall, Bobbi gently started to pull him down, and the doctor followed. Together, they laid against the cold metal wall, the mute cradling him against her chest as he held onto her, as if she were his lifeline. And at the moment, she probably was.

Gently, Bobbi rubbed his back as they sat there together, trying to provide any sort of comfort she could. What she didn't know was that her very silence was comforting. It was helpful beyond what she could even hope to grasp.

Some would blubber and rant and try to make their friend feel better, not knowing it was making it worse; others would fly into a screaming rage, ready to take vengeance on whoever, or whatever had caused the pain and tears, forgetting that their friends where in _pain _and needed _help_, not revenge.

The mute's silent acceptance, her willingness to just listen, was a godsend. A comfort beyond anything else. And Ratchet guiltily breathed it in deeply, desperately filling his lungs, though he felt as if he didn't deserve it in the slightest. The pain was too much, too much for one being to bare on their own.

"...I could have saved him." The whisper was slow, quiet after several moments of silence, "He was right there… I could have saved him…" The agony in those simple, short sentences was enough to break Bobbi's heart. She nuzzled the top of his head and gently rubbed his back, cradling him close to her. If only she could absorb all of the pain he was feeling. To take it all. She didn't know him well, to be honest, but she wanted to. Bobbi wanted to know this angel. Who tried so hard to keep everyone around him healthy and alive. This man who had saved her life on the battlefield after she was sure she was done for.

"Our enemy got there first… he was so injured when we arrived… but his spar- heartbeat was still there…" Ratchet continued quietly, pained, "But I lost him… I couldn't save him… I couldn't save Cyberlock..." He lapsed back into silence, face in her shoulder and collarbone. And Bobbi just held him. Because that was all she could do. She couldn't turn back time and stop what had happened. She couldn't take his pain as her own.

So she did what she could and held him to her, silently crooning sweet nothings that would never be heard.

Finally, after several minutes, Ratchet spoke up, "Next time… I'll be faster… I'll try harder… they won't die… none of them… dammit…" The quiet, agonized words were pledged with utter agony and determination. Bobbi nodded against him, silently acknowledging his _need _to help everyone. To stop the death and pain. How many others had he watched die? How many had been on his operating table when they left this world? How many of those did he know personally? How many had been _friends _of his?

Bobbi wanted to cry for him. He tried so **hard** to save everyone, and he hurt so _bad _when he couldn't.

"Its like a sick game of tug a war." Ratchet laughed blandly, flatly, "Death rips them from us, and we doctors grab onto what we can and yank them back. Then we pull back and forth until one side wins." His head shook back and forth against her skin, his voice tinged with disgust, "I hate it." Bobbi closed her eyes and leaned into him, never once relaxing her hold on him. This was a side of him he clearly didn't let his fellow blue-eyed friends see. And she would hold it close and guard his secret jealously.

The mute didn't know how long they sat there, wrapped in one another's embrace, leaned against the wall. To be honest, she didn't give a fuck.

She was startled when Ratchet's arm slowly moved from her side, and his fingers gently wrapped around a small shard of glass close to them. He held it loosely in his palm, face up. His blue eyes stared at it without really seeing it, as if looking through and past it. Bobbi gently took it from him. Questioning, confused blue eyes looked up at her as Ratchet drew back slightly to fixate his gaze on her.

The tiny woman merely smiled softly. Slowly, Ratchet's own smile worked its way onto his face. Not a smirk, but an actual smile. Everything would be alright, they would make it alright. Together, they kneeled and began to gather glass up carefully, side by side and in silence. No words needed to be exchanged.

Once they had finished, Ratchet seemed to hover around the med bay. As if he had nothing to do, yet needed _something _to keep his mind preoccupied. Bobbi hesitantly padded over him, unsure of where the boundaries laid now. She had crossed one today, one she had always been _very _careful not to cross. Would Ratchet accept her crossing another? Bobbi sincerely hoped so. Otherwise she would make a good fool of herself.

The doctor jumped slightly when a tiny, warm, feminine hand slipped into his. He looked down into determined, yet uncertain brown hues. They were like chocolate in their shade.

His thoughts were broken when Bobbi began to gently tug him along. He could have very well resisted. Ratchet possessed the strength to easily throw her off. Yet he didn't. He followed along, careful not to step on her bare feet, or accidently push her over. Bobbi pulled him over to her bed, then let go. Ratchet's brow furrowed and he cocked his head to the side in question. The mute raised a finger, asking that he wait for a moment. He complied.

Bobbi drew out the puzzle she had finished before, smoothed her bed out, and dumped it on the sheets. She sat at the very head of the bed, on top of her pillow. Then the mute looked pointedly between Ratchet and the spot at the very end. The doctor's lips twitched as he fought a smile of amusement at her antics. Carefully, he removed his shoes- they exploded into tiny, bright blue sparks that Bobbi failed to see due to her position- and sat on the end where she had looked. He drew his legs up onto the bed with him.

The tiny woman grinned, then shifted the puzzle pieces out evenly. Ratchet watched her, curious. The mute began picking out the border from the pile, showing it to him and clicking pieces together. After a moment, the doctor joined in, thankful for something to do. The puzzle was only a five hundred piece one, but it provided a suitable distraction for the time. Ratchet seemed thankful for the distraction, at least.

Bobbi smiled. Her objective had been achieved.

While the mute woman was very work oriented and a workaholic, and tried her damndest not to get attached to her coworkers- she was not heartless. Besides, some of them had managed to wiggle their way into her heart. Ratchet was one of them. Bobbi felt… close to him, despite not knowing him that well.

He was bull headed, frustrating, stubborn, hot headed, gruff, and just all around like an unyielding wall. Yet he was also caring, compassionate, determined, protective, and honest.

Maybe it was these qualities that drew Bobbi in, or perhaps it was just the aura he put off. The feel of someone who was kind yet stern. Someone who was compassionate, yet knew when to put his foot down. And as Bobbi sat in the quiet, dim light of the med bay with the complex being known as Ratchet, she found herself slowly coming to understand the kind of person he was. The layers that made him who he was.

Bobbi wondered how he had come to be who he was. Perhaps one day, he would let her in, and tell her more about himself. The mute didn't know what this was- this warmth- and she didn't know where it was going, but to be honest…

She didn't really mind.

And maybe that should have scared it. Maybe it should have terrified her, because her whole life had been spent being cautious and taking everything one step at a time, doing exactly what her father told her to and being the obedient daughter. Everything had always been carefully control. This was unpredictable. Unknown. It was new.

Yet, for once, Bobbi just wanted to sit back and watch where this would go. She wanted to let go and not have to hold onto it. Absentmindedly, she clicked another piece into place, Ratchet doing the same across from her. The motions were near mindless, yet thought consuming all at once. It was keeping the doctor busy, from thinking of what had happened. Bobbi smiled as she handed the white haired man a piece to the one he was holding. He nodded in thanks, took it, and clicked it into place.

Peace settled over the two.

"Its been _months _since those damned Decepticons hit, and they choose _now _of all times?!" Lennox exploded, "Look at this! I'm so stressed my hair is falling out!" He gestured wildly and Epps clapped a hand on his shoulder to try and help the poor Major calm down before he hurt either himself or someone else.

"I have my suspicions that they are attempting to draw our attention from the traitor they have planted in our midst." Optimus rumbled, his optics dim with the loss of one of his men. Cyberlock had been a very loyal and passionate Autobot, and he would be missed dearly. Ironhide snarled and resisted the urge to punch the wall in pure frustration. His mate, Chromia, gently taking hold of his arm to keep him from doing so.

"I suppose we just have to roll with the punches, huh?" Lennox sighed,

"That's all we can do. Optimus, are you sure Ratchet's gonna be alright? He just took off." Epps gestured with a hand in concern,

"Ratchet is an old friend of us all. I know he will be fine. Give him some time, he will be back with us soon." Optimus rumbled, yet his optics darted to the doors leading out into the corridor, and to the med bay, with concern.

Ratchet had never taken the deaths of his fellow Autobots well, especially if he had worked on them and with them and had attempted to save their life. He just cared too much, under that gruff, angry, rough exterior.

Epps nodded and took Optimus's word for it. After all, he didn't know the medic very well, who was he to say Ratchet wasn't fine and dandy or not?

Optimus himself could only hope his old friend would be alright and ready to join them again soon.

(Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, only my OCs and the plot. *Ahem* Let's admit to the fact that people DO DIE in war. And Ratchet probably sees a LOT of death in his time as a medic. The poor bot probably lost a lot of friends on his medical berth. So, I imagine, he doesn't take to the deaths too well.

Also: BONDING TIME! :D Bobbi and Ratchet grow closer as he- grudgingly- let's her see a side of him that isn't often seen!

Oh, and Cyberlock isn't anyone in particular. _ He not important.

Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! :D)


	9. Celebrations And Apologies

Sometime during the night whilst working on the puzzle, Bobbi must have fallen asleep. Because when she woke, she was tucked under the covers, the puzzle was put away and on the small table beside the bed, and Ratchet was no where to be seen. Yawning widely and rubbing sleep away from her eyes, the field medic slowly sat up in the bed, waking herself up.

Feeling awake and aware of her surroundings, Bobbi folded the blanket back neatly and swept her legs off the side of the bed. However, before she could get up off the bed, Ratchet came striding around the corner. He was looking down at a clipboard, looking better than he had last night, as if he had been sorted out. Bobbi wondered if she had actually help him, if she had even made a difference.

As if feeling her eyes on him, the doctor looked up from his clipboard and focused bright, intelligent blue eyes on her. "Good morning, how are you feeling?" The attractive man came over and stood by her bed, curiosity tinging his eyes a slightly darker color. The mute nodded her head with a smile, conveying she felt wonderful. And she did. There was no pain, no aches, no burn. It was gone.

"Let's check the wound then. I'm going to unravel your chest bandages now, alright?" Bobbi froze at that. Check the wound? Unravel the bandages? But… she was _naked _under her bandages!

The thought was a silly one, she realized. Ratchet had more than likely been the one to wrap her up in the first place, something she hadn't thought of before. What was under the bandages was probably nothing he hadn't seen before. Still, Bobbi couldn't help the flair of modesty and need to keep covered which had her red in the face and inching away from the white haired doctor. Ratchet seemed to know her thought direction, and was quick to assure her, "I'm only going to unravel the top of the bandages, just enough to where I can see the wound."

Bobbi hesitated a moment, then nodded her consent. Pleased, Ratchet set the clipboard on top of the puzzle and took a hold of the bandages. She held still, arms raised, as the doctor carefully unwound some of the bandages just above her breasts. Bobbi couldn't help but to look down at the wound when it was uncovered. It was no longer open or torn, rather, it was a mere pink scar. Jagged and small, as if a small bolt of lightning had hit the spot. Bobbi was sure she would have that for the rest of her life.

"Completely healed." Ratchet murmured, sounding satisfied, "You can unwind the rest of them and get dressed. You're discharged from the med bay and can get back to work. With _light duty._" He gave her a stern look before releasing the bandages and drawing back. The mute nodded in response, lowering her arms. "I'll have Miss Edgeheart bring you clean clothes." With that, the man turned around and swept out of the room to do as he has said. Bobbi stood, and turned so her back was to the rest of the bed bay, facing the bed and the two walls. Being in a corner had its advantages.

Carefully, she began to unwind the bandages. The mute winced as some of them came back with dried blood or medicinal creams. Biting her bottom lip gently, she finished and put the pile of dirty bandages on the bed. Her chest was fucked. Apparently, while she had been dragging herself around and getting the briefcase during the mission; glass and sharp pieces of torn up asphalt had ripped large wounds open across her chest and stomach. Her entire torso was covered with newly healed and closed scratches.

They were large and long, but Bobbi still hoped they would heal completely and leave nothing behind. Sure, she had her own collection of scars, the one on her throat being the most prominent, but that didn't mean she liked them or wanted them. The field medic raised a hand to trail her fingers over the puckered flesh, goose bumps appearing from her cold finger tips touch. Time would tell.

"Bobbi?" The familiar, hesitant, feminine voice made the mute look over her shoulder in confusion. Tammy was standing with a pile of folded up clothes in her arms, "These are for you." Bobbi nodded and held out her hands, not minding being half naked in front of the blonde. Whilst in training, she had changed, showered, trained and ate with a bunch of other females. She was used to it. Tammy set the pile in her arms, "I'll wait for you outside." she hurried out to leave the mute in peace.

Thankful, the field medic began to dress and change, moving slowly and carefully so as not to tear anything open, despite knowing it would probably take a little more than that to do so. When done, she crouched and pulled her boots out from under the bed and pulled them on, lacing them up over the military green socks they required soldiers wear. She stomped each foot to make sure they were on nice and tight, then turned and headed through the med bay, looking around. Surely Ratchet was nearby? Bobbi wanted to thank him for helping her heal and saving her life. No doubt she was an irritating pest to him, with all the times she had tried to get out of bed and _do _something.

Just as she was about to leave and come back later to find him, she spotted the doctor working on something at a shelf off to the side, obscured by a leg of one of the large metal tables. Loathing to disturb him if he was working on something important, but burning up with the want to thank him, Bobbi shifted on her feet for a few moments, weighing her options carefully.

Finally, taking a deep breath, she headed over to him, her boots making a steady, rhythmic thumping noise that alerted him to her presence. "Yes?" Ratchet looked up at her questioningly. How strange, most bolted out the door as soon as they could, leaving him to scream after them to be careful. Yet here Bobbi stood, looking hesitant.

At least, the lower half of her face looked hesitant. That damned helmet hide her upper face. A flair of irritation shot through his chest; it hid her pretty chocolate colored eyes from him, and that intelligent gleam that accompanied them. He liked seeing them, but Bobbi didn't take the helmet off often around other people. She seemed rather attached to it, and Ratchet had only seen it off when she had given it to Vladimir during their last mission.

He was brought back to reality when Bobbi raised a hand, shifting nervously, and signed 'thank you'. Ratchet grunted and waved a hand, as if to physically dismiss the gratitude, "Its my job." He informed the silent woman. Still, she insisted, signing it yet again. Ratchet huffed, what a strange human indeed, "You're welcome." he muttered gruffly, and proceeded to hide himself in his work. Despite the fact that he had already finished.

Sensing the conversation to be over and that Ratchet wouldn't say anything else, Bobbi turned and headed out the door- only to be glomped by Tammy. "EEEEEEE! You're all healed up! Yay! Now we can do AWESOME things!" The blonde blabbered, "Like- take over the world!" The brunette smiled in amusement at the childish woman, and allowed herself to be dragged down the hall like a rag doll.

She was unaware of a set of blue eyes watching after her, clouded with confusing emotions.

Tammy dragged Bobbi down a hall, around a corner, down another hall, and straight to John and Larry's room. The blonde practically knocked the door down with a swing of her fist, which sent the poor door slamming open. "BOBBI'S HERE GUYS!" John hollered, the first to see them in the doorway. He bounced over and helped Tammy drag the mute in. Together, they deposited their victim on one of the military beds inside. From the distinct masculine smell, which was darker than Larry's, Bobbi would say the bed belonged to the hyper redhead currently shoving the poor anti-social man over to them.

"Welcome back." Larry muttered, attempting to disentangle himself from the Irish man squealing in excitement, "DAMMIT JOHN! Leggo! I'm gonna need a damn crowbar…" he cursed angrily. Suddenly, John flew off of Larry and wrapped around Bobbi, "Its so good to have you back! I thought Ratchet had eaten you!"

"For the last time, _he's not a cannibal!_" Evan scolded him as he came out of the bathroom, scowling.

"But think about it! It'd be so easy to claim someone had died from a wound, and have a fridge full of parts and pieces and limbs and organs to feast on! What if that had been Bobs, huh!?" John had clearly taken to Gabriel's nickname for her.

"He's not a cannibal though." Evan rolled his green eyes behind his glasses, "Your imagination is running away with you again."

"It is not!"

"It is too!"

Bobbi listened to the two squabble with amusement. It had been too long since the last time she had hung out with her friends like this. It was nice.

"Should we break them up?" Larry questioned, biting back laughter,

"Nah. Let 'em go at it." Tammy grinned, and then wrapped her arms around the mute, "Bobbi! Its so good to have you back! Do you think we could celebrate? Please? Pretty please?" she began to pout. The mute rolled her eyes in response. They really wanted to celebrate her getting out of the med bay? What a funny thing to be happy at, but she supposed it wouldn't hurt to let them have their fun. So she nodded.

Tammy shot over to John and wrapped around him like a boa constrictor, "BOBS SAID WE COULD CELEBRATE!" She squealed loudly, and Bobbi wondered how the poor man didn't go deaf. In the next instant they were bouncing around excitedly, as if they had had one too many cups of super sugary coffee. John stopped in front of her for a moment, "Tams-and-I-are-going-to-go-get-the-snacks-real-quick-be-right-back!" And then he was off, dragging the blonde with him and leaving the rest of the group gobsmacked and confused, standing there.

"O...kay?" Larry drew out,

"That… ass…" Evan hissed, pushing his glasses up, "This isn't over." He promised the air around him, glaring evilly. Bobbi rubbed her face tiredly. Just what had she unleashed? Whatever it was, it didn't seem like it was good. Tammy and John were hyped up, Evan was revenge ridden, and Larry was at a loss of how to handle it all. Bobbi herself was regretting giving Tammy permission to basically party however she wanted.

After a moment, the two men left sat near Bobbi and began to converse, occasionally bringing the mute into the conversation. Though they had a difficult time understanding her, they were getting better and managed. The field medic was rather pleased with their progress in speaking mute. They spoke and warily, occasionally glanced at the door for close to fifteen minutes while they waited for the dangerous duo to return.

Then, like a hurricane hitting a small village, the poor, abused door slammed open and they swept in, closing it behind them. Lightning quick, they set a crate full of bottles of water on the floor along with a box of flavoring packets and a few odds and ends that Bobbi supposed counted as snacks. She wasn't too surprised about the water. Alcohol and tobacco products weren't allowed on base. Thus, they improvised. Bobbi continued to watch as John and Tammy dragged a small table in and set it up between the two beds, and then slapped a container full of old, worn poker chips and a deck of cards on said table.

"And we begin!" They cheered together and settled themselves around the table, using the beds as seats. "Evan! Deal the cards!" Tammy demanded, pointing at the deck. The pair of glasses flashed and the blackette scowled, ready to tell the blonde exactly where she could stick it, when Bobbi caught his attention by kicking his shin under the table- then she shook her head calmly. 'Just do what they say and get it over with.' She told the irritated man with her eyes and expression. The scowl lightened.

Then he did as he was asked.

It was amazing, watching Evan deal with the cards. He definitely had a talent for it, Bobbi noted as he shuffled the cards in at least twenty different ways skillfully, his long, slim, pale, almost feminine fingers easily sped through and between the cards like a master dealer. Then he flicked them out between them all, dealing the cards better than any dealer at any casino Bobbi had ever been to.

Not that she had been to very many, mind you, but still.

Then the game of poker began. As they played, Evan and John would shoot insults and barbed comments back and forth, the real competition and game going between them. So, it wasn't long before the rest folded. The group watched the two in amusement as they fought verbally, glaring and trying to best each other at poker. However, in the end, Evan wiped the floor with poor John, leaving the redhead to sulk in a corner and the hacker to smirk and clean his glasses with a smug air about him.

Tammy laughed, passed bottles of water with flavoring around, and announced that she wanted to play farkle. An agreement was made and they gathered the things necessary. Five dice, a pencil, and a piece of paper. From there, they all took turns throwing dice and playing.

Bobbi smiled as she watched her friends play, joking, teasing and having a good time. For a moment, the war didn't exist. For now, no stress or duties could touch them. Reality was gone and they could just lay back and take a breather. For now, everything was right in the world, and the brunette didn't have to worry about strange feelings in her chest, or if she was going to die on her next mission, or if she was going to lose a friend and when. No, for now everything was peaceful and calm.

But she knew all too well that all of it was raging right outside the door, ready to swallow them up again. It was alright though, it could stay out there for now.

"Hey Bobs! Your turn to roll the dice!" John laughed and held them out to her, everyone else waiting to see what her score would be. Bobbi smirked and took them from him. Poker may be Evan's game, but Farkle was her's. Grinning, she threw the dice and began her turn. Laughing silently at their expressions when she scored over a thousand points. Her mama had been a Farkle champion, and had made sure to teach her how to play. What to throw away and what to keep. What gambles to take and which one's not to.

And as she wiped the floor with everyone else, Bobbi couldn't help her grin. Yes, everything was just perfect right now.

They spent most of the night playing a variety of games, drinking flavored water and munching on the snacks. By midnight, however, John and Tammy were leaning on each other, asleep, Larry was blinking blankly at the wall slowly, as if he was out of it and Evan looked ready to fall over. "Let's… call it a night…" The anti-social man mumbled slowly, "I'll… put John to bed…" Poor Larry spoke as if every word required a large amount of focus to put into form and push from his lips.

Bobbi yawned and nodded sleepily. She and Evan stood and carefully detangled the two hyper man-children from one another. While he held John to the side, Bobbi knelt, grappled Tammy around the waist, and heaved upwards. Now, Bobbi is a mere four foot either and Tammy is five foot eight. And no, the mute wasn't super strong or muscular. But hell if she wasn't determined and strong _enough_.

The tiny woman hauled Tammy up off the bed, and over her shoulder, fireman style. Grunting, she stumbled back slightly, pivoted on her heel, and marched for the door with both hands wrapped around the taller woman to keep her from falling from her precarious perch. Evan was kind enough to drop John back onto the bed and open the door for Bobbi. Nodding in thanks to him, the mute moved past with the conked out blonde.

Behind her, as she was moving down the hall, Evan left John and Larry to their room, and headed to his own.

Bobbi panted and strained, scowling under the weight of the blonde, spine aching as she headed down the length of the hallway. Dammit, why did she have to be so small? If she were taller, carrying Tammy would be a breeze. She pressed her lips together tightly at the thought as she stumbled up to the door… then realized she couldn't get it open without dropping the blonde on her shoulder.

The mute stared at it for a moment; then smacked her forehead against the wood of the door solidly. "You know, that's not very smart." A voice commented from behind her, sounding amused. Bobbi turned her head to stare blankly at the owner. Sideswipe and his silent twin stood at the other side of the hall. The man stepped forward and opened her door for her with an over dramatic bow, grinning all the while. Bobbi rolled her eyes and stepped through the doorway, dropping Tammy on her bed without an ounce of grace.

Groaning silently, she rubbed her back and shoulders, chest burning. She was barely aware of the twins entering her quarters. "I uh…" Sideswipe cleared his throat, causing Bobbi to turn around and raise an eyebrow at him. The nervous man licked his lips, "I wanted to apologize. You know… for the mission… we should have covered you better." The mute blinked in surprise. Out of all the things she had expected, this hadn't been one.

"Its just, well, you whipped around the corner so fast, and we were still dealing with some of the enemy, and by the time we got through with them and came around the corner after you…" Sideswipe moved his hands in a helpless gesture and Sunstreaker grunted quietly in irritation, clearly not the apologetic type.

Bobbi sighed through her nose, gently took Sideswipe's hands, and squeezed them carefully. Making sure he was paying attention, she smiled, closed her eyes and shook his head. There was nothing to forgive. Releasing his hands and opening her eyes to focus on him, she frowned sternly at him.

"Uh… what is it?" Sideswipe understood her forgiveness, but not the sudden frown. Bobbi scowled, pointed at the clock angrily, then at the door. He laughed, "Alright, alright! We're going! C'mon Sunny."

"Don't call me that." The yellow twin snapped in response, speaking for the first time since they arrived.

The moment they were gone, Bobbi shut the door and fell into her bed, kicking her boots off. Glaring at Tammy for a moment, the mute took a moment to just drink up the familiar feel of her own bed before falling asleep.

It was good to be back.

(I am so sorry if this chappy doesn't seem as good as the other ones or something. I have been running on coffee and sweets all day- I am so friggin' tired, so it may seem a bit crappy.

Bobbi is back in the game! WOOT! Ratchet is getting strange feelings too? Le gasp! :D

9 chapters already?! Holy shit bricks man! I'm shocked at my progress! :o

Enjoy and review~)


	10. A Traitor & The Fall Of A Hero

A few days passed by and Bobbi fell into a routine. Get up, go through training and classes, shower, go to bed. Occasionally hang out in the med bay. She'd drift by the door and spend time with Ratchet, despite the fact that they never really spoke. Eventually he'd come to leave a chair by the door for her to sit in while she spent time there. Bobbi would sit there quietly, basking in his presence, until she had to leave to go to bed.

Before she knew it she had been at the base for a total of two weeks.

"Hey Bobs!" Bobbi scowled at the nickname, and glared up at John who was sitting across from her, "Their gonna let us go home in about a month to visit our families. You know, that every two month thing. One week of family time…" The redhead ignored her glare and mused dreamily, then snapped back to reality, "Anyway, I was wondering… do you have anyone to go back to?" John questioned excitedly, leaning forward on the table.

"John!" Tammy hissed and elbowed his side,  
>"Whaaaaaat?" He whined, pouting and holding his 'injured' side,<p>

"That. Was. _Rude!_" She scowled at him,

"But- but! I wanna know!" Evan joined Tammy in leveling the hyper man-child with evil glares.

Larry just sighed.

Bobbi snapped her fingers twice in a fast manner to catch their attention. Once she was sure they were looking at her, she looked pointedly in John's direction- knowing they couldn't see her eyes due to her helmet- and nodded firmly. "Really?" He beamed, "What kinda family do you have? I've got an older sister- she beats the hell out of me." He sniffled, "And then an awesome older brother that I SO wanna be!" que the million watt grin.

The mute thought for a moment, thinking. Then, carefully, she removed her helmet.

The Irishman's eyes widened as Bobbi carefully handed him her helmet and pointed to the inside. "Oh wow. You're the oldest, huh? Must be tough. I'm the youngest so I wouldn't know." The other's leaned in curiously, huddling around the redhaired devil to see the picture. Finally, he handed her the helmet back and she smacked it back on, buckling it firmly into place. "You look really happy in the photo." Tammy smiled, but there was something sad about it.

"What about you, Tams, have you got family?"

"I… do." The blonde said slowly, her usually bubbly and happy demeanor souring,

"Tell me about 'em!" John beamed, not knowing he had just stepped on a landmine and not really noting her emotional state. Tammy inhaled slowly and exhaled heavily, leaning on a fist, her elbow braced against the table in the mess hall, carefully not to put it in her breakfast.

"We… don't get along very well. I'm adopted, and so there are some serious issues there. So, I'll probably spend my week at a friend's house or something."

"You can stay with meeeee!" John squealed, hugging her tightly to him, grinning widely, "We can stay up late, and watch movies, and eat popcorn- I can make pancakes in the morning!" He continued to chatter on as he squished poor Tammy, not giving her a chance to reply let alone _breath_. Bobbi shot her a sympathetic look.

At long last, Tammy was released from John's clutches with the help of Evan, and she took a moment to breath. "Oh! What about Evan? Do you have family?" The redhead grinned up at the man currently grabbing onto him to keep him from accidentally killing Tammy in his excitement.

"No." Evan stated coolly, "They all died in a car crash when I was a child. Stop asking stupid questions." He dropped John on his rump, on the floor.

The table got quiet. "Oh… I'm sorry for your loss…" Tammy tried to extend her sympathy- she too had lost her family, but had never known them. It seemed that Evan did, if the spark of agony in his eyes was anything to base that off.

"It's fine. It was years ago. Larry, do you have family?" The blackette skillfully turned the attention around on someone else.

Everyone turned in interest to the anti-social man, realizing they knew very little about him. Bobbi, however, continued to keep an eye on Evan. Trauma like that stayed with you your entire life. Evan, however, seemed fine for the most part. "Family? No." Larry shook his head with a sad smile, "I'm afraid not."

"Did something happen…?" John questioned softly,

"I… don't want to talk about it. What are you all going to do on your week of freedom?" And like that, the question was avoided and the conversation started up again in earnest. Bobbi frowned, she and John had families, Tammy did as well but didn't have good relations with them it seemed, and Evan and Larry had nothing.

It made Bobbi feel very grateful to have what she did. Most were not as lucky.

The conversation continued, light and happy, until it was time to head to their classes. As the mute moved with her friends, her unit, she found herself reflecting on each and every one of them. Their personalities, likes, dislikes, and habits. Unexpectedly, her mind turned to Ratchet. Strong and caring, compassionate and accepting, yet firm, stern and calm. Warmth spread over her cheeks, and before Bobbi knew it, she had run into Larry's back. He looked back at her in amusement, "Alright there?" He questioned jokingly.

Embarrassed, knowing her face was likely red, Bobbi nodded quickly.

They were starting to file into the class. Shaking her head, the mute followed them. Bad Bobbi! No thinking of sexy medics! Oh but he was very se- NO!

Mentally slapping herself, the field medic hurried to follow her squad closely. 'Stay focused!' the silent scolding seemed to help.

Classes had improved. Now they were learning to actually _fire _the new guns instead of simply disassembling and reassembling them. They were, however, somewhat safe. Instead of their targets erupting to molten flames, the guns would, instead, simply lob ammo out the front, like small round lead balls, but the guns still had the same realistic kick and aim as they would normally, making the practice effective if a bit safer.

More than once, Bobbi was thrown on her ass from the sheer force the gun's jump from the blast. She was the only one. Her small size made it very hard for her to shoot it. Still, she tried- and repeatedly got tossed back on her ass. The instructor, however, was too busy roaring with mirth to have mercy on her. By the end of it all, her rump was very, very sore.

Bobbi scowled angrily as her teammates laughed, snickered, and chuckled at her expense. She shook a fist at them in mock anger, silently threatening them and telling them she knew where they all slept. John merely wrapped an arm around her, tears streaming down his face and choking on laughter, "Bobs… I'm so sorry… you just… it was so adorable! And hilarious!" He choked and laughed between words as he hugged her from the side and cackled. Bobbi punched him in the chest lightly and shoved him off with a roll of her eyes. That was _so _not funny. Her ass freaking hurt!

Bobbi got to silently laugh at John in the next class: Computers. Well, it was essentially computers, but it had another name. A big, long, complicated other name that she didn't bother in remembering. She grinned as she watched the redhead stare at the screen in front of him in horror. Hacking, programming and finding information in a database was _not _his forte. Tammy could at least find information.

By the end of the day, everyone was ready to just go to sleep. It had been long, and trying. Tammy, Evan and Larry had already headed to their rooms. Bobbi was just about to head to the med bay for an hour or two, when John stopped her. "Hey… I've got… a favor to ask…" He awkwardly shifted. John was a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. He didn't ask for much and he put forth all of his effort in everything he did. The redhead was surprisingly very independent. He didn't like asking for things in the slightest. The fact that he was asking her for a favor was surprising to say the least.

Curious, Bobbi turned towards him and raised an eyebrow in question. "Would you… uh… mind if I borrowed your pen? Please? You can have it back in about an hour! I swear! Please?" John clapped his hands together pleadingly. Bobbi waved a hand in a gesture of a question, confused, "I… I lost mine. The plane taking the letters to the mainland leaves tomorrow too, and I'm _almost _done with my letter to my family! Please? I promise you, you'll get it back before tonight is over with!" John's expression was heartbreaking.

Besides, could Bobbi _really _say no to him writing to his family? Not at all. Sighing and rolling her eyes with a smile, the mute reached into the breast pocket of her uniform and held the black mechanical pencil out to him. "Thank you _so _much! I owe you big time! Now I can write back to my mom, sis, bro and dad!" The redhead gleefully took it from her, "I'm off to finish up! I'll get this back to you in no time!" he raced off with her favorite pencil. The one that had a perfect grip, swooping motion when writing, and was just all around flawless.

Sighing and shaking her head free of such thoughts, Bobbi smiled and headed to the med bay. John was a good guy, he'd hold true to his word. So, the tiny woman didn't worry about it as she took up her usual spot in the chair by the door. Ratchet briefly stopped what he was doing to look at her, but then went back to his work, seeming to relax a great deal. The mute smiled and stretched before settling back to relax and maybe catch a nap in before she had to go to bed for the night. Naps were amazing.

Hours passed, and a pricking feeling started up in her chest. Like an annoying needle kept sticking her in the breast. Frowning, she shifted in her chair again. No matter what Bobbi did, she couldn't go to sleep. Sighing heavily through her nose, her eyes wandered to the time. Eight o'clock. Might as well check on John and see if he was ready to relinquish her pencil.

Putting her hands on her thighs carefully, Bobbi worked her way to her feet, knees popping violently. Grunting to herself, she stretched and headed out the door, unaware of Ratchet's worried gaze. He could feel something was off.

Walking down the hall at a steady pace, the silent woman ducked and wove in between other soldiers, computer analysts, and anyone else she came across. As she got closer to the barracks, and John's shared room, things started to calm down, and there were less people. Pleased with the lull in traffic, Bobbi sped up. She was just about to turn the corner and go to the middle door that was her objective- when a familiar sound reached her ears. The sound of a gun going off, and a body hitting something.

Panic unlike any other seared through Bobbi's body. Speeding up, she tore around the corner- and froze. John laid against the wall, a splatter of blood to the side as he clutched his bleeding torso. He was gasping, wheezing weakly, _dying_. It didn't register. None of it did. Larry was standing over him, gun in hand. A little pistol that was required for all soldiers to carry in case of an attack. This time, the attack had come from within.

"Stupid kid… shoulda minded your own business… going through someone else's stuff brings _trouble._ Too bad you won't learn from your mistake." Larry hissed down at him, one hand holding that cold hunk of metal, the other clutching his bleeding right shoulder- Bobbi's pencil poking out of the flesh like a sore thumb. "Trai… tor…" The slow, wispy words left the redhead's lips painfully, blood following soon after in a gushing flow over his lips and chin, splattering over his chest. Bobbi's lips trembled, rage unlike any other beginning to flood through her.

"Really?" Larry scoffed with a laugh, "I was _never _on your side. How long did you all believe me? Six, seven years? Maybe more? And I'll get away with so much more." He hissed, leaning in, "Because they'll believe the enemy snuck in and killed you. _They'll believe me, like they always have._" The man grinned, an insane glint in his eyes. John's head fell to the side, and he looked right a Bobbi, determined and grim. He knew he was going to die. There was no helping him. His wound was far more serious than Bobbi's chest wound had been on the battlefield.

"Get… 'im… Bobs… Don'... let… 'im… fool… them…" The Irishman wheezed painfully, darkly, "Pro… mise… me…"

Larry's head shot to the side to see her, "_Shit_. Well, looks like there'll be _two _victims, hm?" he raised the gun. Bobbi shot forward, ducking down a millisecond before the gun went off, all thanks to her small size. 'I. Fucking. Promise.' The thought was reinforced with the punch she sent to Larry's jaw. Straight up, like a rocket. That clenched fist drew in, now bruised from the excessive force that came with her rage, and the other whipped out to smack the gun from his hold. It skittered across the floor.

Larry stumbled back, stared at her wide eyed for a split second- then turn and ran. Bobbi chased him. She would hold her promise. Larry would _die._ Behind her, she could _hear _Tammy screaming for John, and could almost see her falling to her knees to cradle the dying man's head in her lap. Could _taste _her tears, her sorrow, her broken heart. Tammy had loved him. She had loved him like no other. And that just pissed Bobbi off more, because Larry _took _that from Tammy. He _stole _John from them. Without remorse, without guilt. And he would _pay _for it dearly_. With his blood. _Bobbi would make sure of it.

She chased the traitor into one of the minor hangers. Filled with spare gear and lined with army Hummer's and other vehicles. Bobbi stepped into the near pitch black space without fear. No, she couldn't feel fear at the moment. Only hate. And rage. Red clouded her vision, her breathing intensified, and she clenched her jaw and her fists. Stormy brown eyes, darkened to near black, scanned over the dark, silent room. He was here, she could feel it. But he was hiding, like a coward. Oh, how she wished she could taunt him!

Angrily, she settled for stomping her boot down, sending shockwaves of sound through the room. For John. This was for John. Tammy. Evan. All of them. This was for _them._ Bobbi let out a silent scream, grabbing a table filled with ammo, flipping it on its side to clear it off, and flinging it across the room hazardously, hoping to draw Larry out, or at least cause him to make a noise. Nothing. The table clattered loudly over a few vehicles before crashing to the ground and rattling. Eventually laying still.

"Hello darling." Bobbi whirled around to come face to face with the barrel of a rather large gun, a darkly grinning Larry as its holder. Throwing herself aside, she narrowly avoided getting shot, and rolled under a vehicle deftly. Cover. Cover was good. It would keep her safe.

Army crawling as fast as she could, Bobbi drug herself out from under it, exiting at the back, and took off quickly. Hearing Larry gaining on her by following the sounds of her footsteps and having longer legs, she grabbed the nearest gun she saw and- hoping it was filled with ammo- she whirled around and pulled the trigger.

Flames filled her vision. An agonized scream filled the metal room, echoing off the walls and searing her ears painfully with how loud and high pitched it was. The scent of burning flesh and hair was all she could smell. Dropping the heavy gun, she darted for the exit. He would follow her. She knew it. After all, she had pissed him off royally.

"YOU. BITCH!" Oh yeah, he was pissed. It was too bad for him; so was Bobbi.

Smirking, she barreled around a corner and shot down an empty hall, forcing her small body to go faster. A shrieking, burning, slightly on fire Larry chased after her. Bobbi hoped no one was around. She hoped everyone was away. And she prayed they wouldn't get in her way or try to help.

Larry was _her's._ He was going to die by _her _hand. No one else's. Their wishes be _damned!_

Sliding quickly around a set of huge, double metal doors, she barely had time to note that she was in the main hangar before she rolled behind the silver Porsche. She had to hide for now. Just until she could get that gun away from Larry. She'd be no good if he shot her dead. Bobbi needed to be _alive _to kill him slowly and painfully and extract her revenge. And that required the gun be gone.

As the half burned man stumbled in, teeth bared and gun at the ready, shrieking in pain, misery and hateful anger, a set of fiery, gleaming eyes peered from the shadows.

Bobbi was going to make him _suffer_.

(Ack! Its done! HAHAHA! YEEEEESSSSS! :D

Okay, so, a lot of you guessed right- I've had the mole planned from the beginning- so I really need to hide my moles better...

Um... _IT NEEDED TO HAPPEN! I AM SO SORRY!_

Yes... John is dead... but its all part of the story line! D: I feel SO. FRIGGIN'. BAD! John was one of my favorite! My FEELS! All of them! OWWWWW!

Q_Q Don't worry, there are tissues in the corner for you all to use.

Please leave me a review with your thoughts and feels?

Okay, now I'm off to go have tea with Satan and discuss my next move with him.)


	11. Revenge Isn't As Sweet As They Say

Bobbi sneered at the man she had once called friend. Her searing rage had cooled to a cold, controlled, haze of fury. Now that she wasn't so blinded by the sudden rush of adrenaline and anger, she could somewhat think. The pistol. They all had one. She should have one too. Careful not to draw the stumbling, injured man's attention, she slipped a hand to wear the hunk of metal should be.

Her hand met uniform. It wasn't there.

Panic flared in her chest like a hot flame bursting from a stove sharply and suddenly. Licking her lips, mouth startlingly dry, Bobbi took a deep breath and thought carefully. Where was it? She retraced her steps and the blood drained from her face. Of all the times to forget it in her room… it had to be today.

She could get into big trouble for this.

Pushing the thought away, she pressed her thin lips together tightly. He had a gun, and she didn't. What to do? Brown eyes wandered around the very dark room quickly. Filled with expensive cars… two big ass semis…

_And a catwalk._

A grin stretched across the woman's face. When she was a kid, before she had turned twenty one and put herself in the military, her spare time had been filled with books, studying, and _acrobatics. _Bobbi had simply loved swinging her body around and throwing herself between things. The jumping around and nearly _flying _had entranced her. When they could no longer afford lessons, or for her to go to the gymnasium, Bobbi had merely taken to something they now called parkour. Running, jumping, swinging off things, flipping… the whole shabang. And so, an idea started to form in her mind.

Smirking downright evilly, Bobbi scaled up the ladder in the corner to her right silently, listening to Larry stumble around, looking for her. He was cussing her out loudly, growling and snarling. Getting to the top, she crouched and looked around carefully, coming across a pile of supplies for some of the missions Lennox was sending people out on in the morning. Running her hands across the items to help her see, she found a coil of rope.

Pleased as she found it seemed much stronger than the normal rope- possibly cabling- she tied it to the side of the railing. Now for a weapon… ah! There!

Moving silently, she pulled out a heavy duty knife. She didn't know the name of it, but she knew it was usually used to hack through underbrush. Perfect.

Grabbing onto the rope, she coiled it around her left arm to where it wouldn't come loose, then fitted the knife into her right hand tightly. Don't let go, she told herself. Don't fucking let go. You let go, you're gonna go 'SPLAT!'

Taking a deep breath, heart beating wildly, Bobbi slowly climbed onto the top of the railing and waited for Larry to fall into position. He was walking around below her, searching for her under and behind the vehicles. "Come out little bitch. I just wanna _talk_." The spy hissed, then, when it was apparent that she wasn't coming out, he began to taunt her. "You know, I never did like you or the rest of the group. Especially John and Tammy. Annoying little cunts, you know. I'm glad he's dead now. I rather enjoyed putting a bullet into him. I could only wish I could put a few more in him." Bobbi ground her teeth but stayed still.

"Do you even care? Look at you, hiding like a child." Larry taunted, "Ah! It was so _easy _to hide though! You and the rest didn't even know I wasn't really on your side." He chuckled, moving closer slowly, checking every little space for her, gun at the ready, "I debated asking you and Evan to join me, but you two were too close to those babbling _idiots._" the spy spat angrily, "It feels so good to finally come out about my allegiance… the Decepticons won't be though." he sighed, as if disappointed, and stopped right beneath her.

Bobbi let herself fall, rage, cold and heavy, fueling her determination and banishing any fear she had of falling after not doing so for so long.

After she had joined the military, her father had made sure she knew that she probably wouldn't be allowed to do things like this. They liked you to do things their way; but now, with no one watching, she was free to let herself do something she was used to.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten just how far was _safe _to fall.

And so, when Bobbi slammed into Larry, the rope pulled harshly on her arm… and yanked it out of place. Shrieking silently and angrily in agony, the mute channeled all of her rage and pain into bringing the knife down on the spy. _KILL HIM!_

Larry howled as her body came into contact with his and the knife cut deep into his shoulder, the one opposite of the one the pen was in. Unlike in the movies, however, it didn't, sadly, cut his arm off. It just made one hell of a big gouge and let a spray of blood free. Bobbi was thrown from her perch- thankfully with her knife- and screamed silently again as her dislocated arm was yanked painfully by the rope tied around it. Clenched her teeth, she quickly twisted herself free and darted to the side.

The spy glared at her angrily from where he stood, panting, teeth bared like a pissed off wolf. No longer could he haul the large gun around. It took two hands and he had lost the control of one. Bobbi smiled grimly. They were on even turf. Both missing an arm- oh wait, no, she had the upper hand. The left half of his face had been seared by the flamethrower. The lips on that half had been _melted _together, his eye was seared shut, and the scent of burning flesh still lingered around him in a horrid stench.

Bobbi winced at the damage she had done, but felt a swell of pride and satisfaction. She had gotten him. She had gotten him good. "So there you are, little mouse." Larry snarled, ignoring his gushing shoulder. He pulled out a pocket knife, flipping it around skillfully, showing off with his good hand. The mute scowled at him angrily, sliding into a hand-to-hand combat stance; her left arm hanging limply at her side, her right holding the knife that was almost a short sword at a offensive angle.

She was _so _gonna kick his ass.

Larry lunged with a roar, fainting to the left and trying to duck around her to stab her from behind. Bobbi threw her body to the right and tucked into a tight roll before leaping to her feet and kicking off at him, avoiding the crippling attack. She was smaller, more flexible, and faster, but he had strength, size and endurance. He could take more punishment than she could. But that was alright, she was happy to dish out a _lot _of pain.

They ducked and dodged around one another, testing each other's defenses for nearly a full two minutes.

Bobbi wasn't good at hand-to-hand. No, not at all. She was better with the gun, and best at patching someone up and providing cover fire. She was a support soldier and she knew it; not one who could handle things on her own while on the battlefield. Larry, however, wasn't either. He was used to back stabbing and using the element of surprise and trust. To get someone unawares and then kill them.

Like with John.

That thought threw Bobbi back into the violent tornado that was rage. Silently screaming, she finally managed to stab the bastard in the side. _DIE ALREADY!_

Larry snarled and leaped back, pained and gushing more blood, "FUCK!" he roared and retaliated.

Out of breath and blinded with rage, Bobbi didn't see the knife coming until it sliced through her shoulder cleanly, causing blood to leak. Pained, pissed, she lashed out blindly with her knife- she caught Larry's hand with it and caused him to drop his weapon. It skidded away and under one of the vehicles.

Had she not been so preoccupied, she may have noticed the way the blue Volt hunkered down on it and touched the ground easily, keeping anyone from getting to it again.

Larry lost it. He lunged with a scream, one arm knocking her weapon arm aside, he tackled her to the ground and wrapped his hands around her neck. He could no longer hold a heavy weapon due to his injured arm, yes, but he could still strangle the life out of her. Bobbi choked, the back of her head had been protected from the hard concrete by her helmet, but now it was ringing and vibrating, making stars appear in her vision.

Oh how it HURT! Her dislocated arm _screamed _at her for the abuse, but she managed to ignore it. She kicked out, air supply cut off, but didn't do any damage to the bigger man. She clawed at his hands with her good hand- wait, her knife, where was her knife?

Bobbi's eyes desperately looked around, skittering around the rim of her helmet, which had been forced backwards from the hit with the ground. There! Only a little bit away! Right next to the tire of a familiar ambulance. Clenching her teeth and looking back up at Larry, her dislocated arm laid limply at her side, her other reached as far as it could to get to the knife.

Her fingertips touched the handle, but that was all. She lacked the arm length. Black started creeping in around her vision, her struggles became weaker, and a sadistic grin covered the good half of Larry's face. She was going to die here.

She was going to be his next victim.

The knife was suddenly nudged into Bobbi's hand. Had she had clear vision and been watching, she would have seen the tire move carefully and shove it towards her. However, she was a little busy at the time.

Hand clenching around the handle, she swung it around and up at the cruel, evil man, fueled by desperation and pure anger. She felt it hit skin and go through, the black in her vision keeping her from seeing much due to the spots, and Larry's hands suddenly went slack. He fell off of her and to the side, letting beautiful, sweet air enter her lungs. Bobbi gasped and coughed, chest expanding and falling in heaving breaths.

Painfully, she managed to roll onto her stomach, over her good side, and pushed herself to her knees with a surge of force.

Bobbi's ears caught the sound of yelling. 'Oh great. People.' She mentally groaned, and looked to Larry. Her heart and stomach dropped like lead. Dead. Isn't that what she had been aiming for? Yes, but… She shivered violently. Her knife had hit his neck, and gone straight through to the other side. Whatever she had hit, it had been important because he was very much dead. She felt numb. So numb.

Bobbi barely noticed the rush of people, grabbing the corpse and lugging it out, asking her if she was okay. Did she _look _okay? No. She wasn't friggin' okay. Damn assholes. But she didn't reply. She sat there, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

A warm, large, familiar hand gently laid on her good shoulder. "Miss Bellmark, I need to pop your dislocated arm back into place, okay?" The field medic blinked up at the concerned visage that was Ratchet's face. Slowly, like a limp noodle, she nodded. He pressed his lips together tightly, grabbed her arm and other shoulder to brace her on, and took a deep breath. "On the count of three, alright?"

Bobbi nodded blankly. Of course he wouldn't do it on three. He needed it to be unexpected, to avoid her tensing up. She wouldn't tense up. She didn't care anymore. "One-" The shoulder snapped back into place. She clenched her jaw against the numbed waves of pain so tightly, it felt as if she would break something.

Ratchet breathed out a heavy sigh through his nose, "Bobbi." he knelt in front of the mute woman. She wondered why he only used selected times to use her first name, but brushed the irritating thought aside. It was unimportant. "We need to go to the med bay to get you patched up. Can you walk?" His voice was so gentle and concerned, if gruff… why was he talking to her like that?

Of course, she couldn't see the dead, almost zombie like state she was in so of course she wouldn't know.

Carefully, Bobbi thought the question over. Could she walk? What a puzzling question. She tested her leg muscles, tensing them slightly, and silently yelped. No. No she couldn't. The mute shook her head. Adrenaline had pushed her through most of the battle, but now she felt far too tired. Too sleepy. Too sore. Her leg muscles wouldn't respond because they felt abused and bruised painfully.

Ratchet sighed again, this time through his mouth. Bobbi was just about to apologize when an unheard squeak of surprise left her. Ratchet had curled one arm around her back, and one under the bend of her knees, and he had promptly picked her up as easily as if she were a very small child. Panicking, she threw her arms around his neck and held on, eyes wide, wincing slightly at the twinges of pain from her now fixed arm.

The doctor grunted a little and began walking for the med bay.

Bobbi frowned. She was getting blood on him. Gently, she tugged on his coat's arm to get his attention. "Hm?" Bright blue, inquisitive eyes looked down at her. Hesitantly, Bobbi pointed at the blood she was leaking on him, then down at the ground. "No, I'm not putting you down just because you think you're getting blood on me is bad. Don't worry about it." He gruffly muttered, and went back to watching where he was going.

The mute blinked up at him in question. What a strange man, she mused, but let it go, leaning into him slightly so as not to fall from his rather firm grip. Ratchet said not another word as he carried her to the med bay and set her on one of the medical beds near the center. Then, he pulled out a bag full of medical things.

Bobbi didn't bother to pay attention to what they were, and merely watched tiredly as he worked to clean and bandage her wounds. He was quiet as he worked, for which Bobbi was thankful. She tilted her head back and focused on the ceiling, thinking and falling into her own mind, the sensation of Ratchet working faded to the back of her awareness, even when he was stitching some of the wounds closed.

The mute had never killed a friend- well, he was an ex friend now, wasn't he?- before. It weighed heavy on her mind and caused her chest to constrict painfully. She had killed him. Ended his life.

'But he killed John.' Part of the tiny woman's mind reminded herself, and a whole new wave of pain washed over her. He was dead. Gone. He wouldn't smile for them anymore or cheer them up, he wouldn't be there, bouncing and excited, in the morning. He was dead. Larry had killed him. She closed her eyes against the pain. What would Evan and Tammy think of her now? Or Vladimir and Gabriel?

Large, gentle thumbs suddenly wiped along her cheeks, as if she might break. It then occurred to Bobbi that she was crying. Swallowing thickly, she focused on the touch and who it belonged to. Ratchet was sitting on the edge of the medical bed, hands gently cupping the sides of her face, and his thumbs were tenderly brushing tears away. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were soft, an intense look of concentration on his face as he made sure there was no wet left over from her tears.

Bobbi choked and leaned into the touch, craving the comfort. "Its okay." Ratchet's murmur did it. The dam broke and she silently began to sob. She had been trying so hard, so very, very hard to stand tall and strong, knowing others were probably hurting more then she was. She didn't, after all, know John very well.

But he had this presence about him that drew people in. You either found him annoying as hell and wanted to kill him, or you adored him and the way he brightened the room when he bounced in.

Ratchet gently wrapped his arms around her, bringing her to him. With a silent cry of emotional agony, Bobbi tucked herself into his chest, and cried into him, clutching the front of his doctor's coat.

He said not a word, only holding her close. Bobbi shook and trembled, crying and clinging to him, absorbing the comfort and warmth and safety that she so desperately craved, needed, and wanted. And he gave it. Without pity or judgement, he gave it.

They stayed there like that for a good long while, until Bobbi cried herself out and slumped against him. After a moment, Ratchet found her to be asleep. Gently, he laid her down, he pulled her boots off and covered her up, putting the equipment by the bed. That taken care of, he began to unbuckle her helmet, and carefully removed it. Setting it next to her boots, Ratchet drew back to get a look at her.

Bobbi looked worn and tired. Old and exhausted. Her hair was a mess and stiff with what looked like dried sweat and blood. Her face and body were scuffed up with the occasional injury, and there was blood dried in many different places. Some of it not her own, but Larry's.

She looked tiny against the medical bed. As if she may break, or tear apart. The thought scared the doctor, though he did not show it. Taking a deep breath, he tore himself from the human's side and went back to his work, though he didn't particularly want to. Ratchet frowned, what was wrong with him?

Bobbi slept on, unknowing of Ratchet's dilemma.


	12. Funeral

Her head was throbbing. Well, everything was throbbing, but her head was the worst. Bobbi mentally groaned as she reluctantly pulled herself from the haze of sleep. Its edges ripped and tore at her departure, and made many grabs for her. Bobbi ignored it and sleepily blinked awake, reaching up to rub her eyes, removing the crust there.

Sitting up slowly, she ignored the protesting ache of her body and, wincing, fully woke herself up. It took a moment before the memories came rushing back, delivering painful blows to her chest and heart. Bobbi closed her eyes tightly for a moment, leaning back against the wall and bracing herself for reality, before reaching and fumbling for her helmet. It was rather easy to grab, as it was sitting on her boots.

Scooping it up and plopping it on her head, Bobbi buckled it into place carefully. The med bay was silent and dark, telling her everyone was still asleep. Ratchet was no where to be seen. Sighing through her nose heavily, she leaned back against the wall and reflected on past events.

John was dead.

She had killed his killer with her own two hands.

Tammy was heartbroken.

Evan was probably crushed.

She ran a hand over her face. If she had been just a little bit faster… could she have saved him? If she had been just a little earlier, would it have mattered? Could this have been prevented? What if she hadn't loaned her pencil to him? Or gone with him instead?

"Blaming yourself won't help or change anything." The familiar, gruff voice would have normally made her jump. But Bobbi was just too numb to react. Almost shellshocked. She looked up at him tiredly, reprimandingly. 'Don't sneak up on me.' She silently berated him. Ratchet seemed to read her thoughts because he smirked, chuckled softly, and sat down on the side of her bed carefully, shifting to get into a comfortable position.

"Still, blaming and beating up on yourself isn't going to change what happened. Nor is it going to bring them back." Ratchet quietly told the mute, adding when she winced, "A bit harsh, but it's the truth. What could have beens' and what ifs' won't help anyone right now. All you can do is try to help your teammates through this, and try not to let what happened get to you."

Bobbi let out a heavy breath through her nose and shook her head from side to side, gesturing with her hands. To anyone watching, it would have been gibberish, but Ratchet understood. "You are not the same as that traitor. You killed him to protect others and defend the base. Your _job_. He killed to save his own aft and for the fun of it, from the looks of things. You did what John asked you to. You protected his mate, and the rest of the base." Some of the words that he used were confusing to Bobbi, but she understood them all the same.

She nodded, and a pleased look came across his face. He had managed to make a good impression. The field medic smiled and gestured with her hands, thanking him. Ratchet grunted and waved it off, standing, "Get some sleep." Bobbi laughed a little at his embarrassed grumble, and watched him move off.

Still, she listened and laid back down, taking her helmet back off as she did so. The mute set it back down, closed her eyes, and settled in to sleep.

Insomniacs find it impossible to sleep eighty percent of the time. Most people in general find it difficult to sleep. Especially after going through a traumatic event.

Those people should enter the military. By the time they're through with you, you will be able to sleep anywhere, at anytime, no matter what. Because you never know when your going to be woken up to be thrown into a shit fit of a battle again.

And so, Bobbi knocked herself the fuck out.

Only to be woken some odd hours later by Tammy screaming at someone. Shooting up out of bed, the mute grabbed the only thing available at the moment- her tiny side table with medicines on it, of which crashed to the floor- and raced to the screaming woman's defence. She sprinted across the open floor towards her teammate, acting purely on instinct, muscle memory and the push of instant adrenaline that was working to wake her up.

Leaping, bouncing off a bed, Bobbi tackled one of the figures blurred with sleep, raising the table above her head. Before she could smash a poor, screaming Epps's face in, however, Ratchet pulled her off. Everyone was screaming now, "WOAH WOAH! FRIENDLY! FRIENDLY!" The African American screamed,

"EASY!" Ratchet was roaring. Everyone else was white noise to Bobbi's ears. She blinked and struggled slightly before she fully awoke and came to her senses. Slumping, she held up both her hands, wide and splayed; the table having been taken from her by Lennox. The mute held perfectly still as everyone calmed down.

"First of all…" Epps was now standing, he pointed at the field medic, "NOT cool! Second!" He pointed at Tammy, "Please stop screaming and sickin' your friend here on my ass! Also not cool!"

"Miss Edgeheart, we _need _to move his body." Lennox told her gently, "We're going to give him a proper funeral later, I promise you." he was trying to gently make the blonde let go of her death grip on her dead lover, covering his body with her own. Bloodshot blue eyes glared up at him balefully, challenging him.

Ratchet, seeing Bobbi wasn't going to go on a skull bashing spree now, released her carefully, murmuring an apology. The mute nodded, then moved over to Tammy and gently touched her shoulder. Blue eyes flicked up at her in that same glare, then wavered, as if rethinking this. Bobbi tilted her head, putting out her best pleading face.

Slowly, the blonde swallowed, and began to release the body. Evan sighed in relief from his spot on the bed. He had attempted to calm Tammy, and had failed- receiving a shoe to the face as a result. When she had fully released John; they took him away.

The blonde whirled and buried herself into Bobbi's torso, on her knees, sobbing, her arms wrapped around the smaller woman. The mute wrapped her arms around her in turn and held her close. The others slowly drifted off, uncomfortable with the sobbing woman.

Bobbi stroked those golden curls, cheek on Tammy's head. She was hardly an expert at comforting people, but she knew that sometimes, all you need to do is be there, and maybe hold them. And so she did. The mute stood there and rubbed the taller woman's back and silently told her everything would be alright, despite knowing it might not. Because sometimes you need those little white lies. Sometimes you need that assurance. And Bobbi tried her damndest to give Tammy that.

Before long, the blonde slumped against her, arms unwinding from the small frame they were clutching to. Bobbi drew back carefully, and gently guided the other woman onto a medical bed nearby; but not the one John had been laying on. She pushed her down onto it slowly, making sure she wouldn't fall, before moving her hands to rest them on the blonde woman's shoulders. "...?" Bobbi leaned down to take a look at Tammy, and frowned. Tams looked as if she had given up. Her eyes dull and lifeless, body slumped, her breathing slow and even. It was like she was having… hiccups. Yes, almost like hiccups.

She would give up, only to have a spurt of strength that would come and she would try to protect John, only for it to flee her right after.

It was playing with her like the waves of the ocean chasing a small child's feet and then receding only to repeat the action.

Bobbi lightly knocked her forehead against Tammy's. The woman slowly made eye contact with her. The mute narrowed her own brown orbs in determination, conveying her argument to the blonde. Her companions blues filled with painful tears, returning her reply. Bobbi tilted her head. Tammy shook her head slowly and slightly against her friend's forehead.

The silent conversation continued until Bobbi drew back with a frown. Tammy blinked up at her questioningly. Carefully, the mute pointed at the bed John had been laying on, then slammed a fist over her chest where John had been shot. "John's… killer…?" Tammy questioned raspily, wincing at both the sensation and the words. Bobbi nodded, then drew her thumb over her own throat. "H-He's dead…?" The mute nodded. Tammy bit her bottom lip, then lunged forward and dragged the smaller woman into a tight embrace.

"Thank you…" The whimper reached her ears in a tiny voice. Bobbi blinked, holding still, wondering if she should hug back, like before. But before she could, Tammy released her from her rather weak death hold, and sat back against the bed, slightly curled up on herself. Bobbi reached out and gently patted the blonde's head, her own silent way of comforting her. And Tammy accepted that.

Pivoting on her heel, Bobbi left quickly before she got dragged into a sappy moment. Sappy moments with Tammy were scary. Sighing and sobering, the mute hoped the other woman would be alright.

Reaching her bed, she yanked her helmet and boots on, buckling and tying them on. Done with that, she made her bed, and then tried to find Ratchet to ask if she could help with something. Her entire body ached from previous injuries, but it really wasn't that bad. Bobbi suspected drugs. The kind that were her friend and made pain go away. Sighing, she moved around the med bay in her search, trying to banish the strange thoughts in her mind.

Finally, she found Ratchet examining some things on a shelf with a peculiar expression on his face. Feeling like a child, she moved up to his side and tugged on his sleeve gently. The doctor looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Hesitant, shifting, the mute signed her question, not wanting hit with a wrench. "Hmm…" Bright blues narrowed thoughtfully, "Well… I suppose if you really want to help… and your _careful_…" And so she was put to work.

The air on base was thick with grief and quiet remorse.

It sickened Bobbi. While she was more down to Earth and serious than most, she wasn't goth or emo about things, and enjoyed a happy medium. This was far too depressing for her. Would John have wanted this? No. Bobbi quirked a sad smile. Knowing him, he would have wanted his coffin to be suddenly flipped open at the beginning of the service, for confetti to spring out and fall over his bed. For a disco ball to come out and for music to start. He would want people to laugh, eat, drink, enjoy themselves and make new friends.

None of that was at his funeral. A funeral Bobbi attended with a straight face and in full uniform, like everyone else. She held herself tall and with honor. Tammy barely held it together. By the end of it, the blonde had silent tears streaming down her face in torrents, and Bobbi just wanted to _leave._

This wasn't what he wanted. Why were they doing this?

Clenching her jaw, Bobbi held it together until the very end, when they were dismissed. Tammy went back to her room, Evan darted off to find Gabriel, and Bobbi just let herself wander. She drifted down one hall, and then another. More than once she came across a dead end, forcing her to double back and try again. Bobbi avoided places she wasn't allowed in, and somehow wound up outside, on the roof of the base.

Confused, she turned and examined everything, the wind blowing and pushing against her uniformed body. The mute guessed it had been around three hours since the funeral. The sun was starting to set, sending beautiful colors rippling across the ocean water in a torrent of life. Sighing heavily, the brunette sat on the roof, looking out over it all and watching. She liked it her. Maybe she would make it her get away spot for the weekends.

"I didn't think I would find you out here." The rough mumble had Bobbi looking over her shoulder at the doctor. "..." She raised a hand and moved it around in a ball shaped gesture, as if to ask what the man expected. Ratchet shrugged lightly and headed over, careful on the slightly slanted roof. He pulled a bottle of pills out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Take two of these every four hours. Their painkillers. You should start with taking two now." The field medic nodded and accepted it.

Ratchet sat next to her and watched as the mute dry swallowed two small pink pills from the bottle and then twisted it shut. Bobbi stuffed the plastic container into her pocket and turned back to the sunset.

"...How do you feel?" The question was unexpected to be sure, but Bobbi answered with a nod of her head. She was alright. Achy, but fine. "...Bobbi…" Ratchet turned his head towards her with a serious frown on his face, brow furrowed. The mute tilted her head in curiosity, "Something will happen at the end of next week. Some information will be revealed to you, that… I hope you will accept."

Bobbi blinked. Was he… nervous? She smiled and made a wave with her right hand before signing that she was sure whatever it was wasn't that bad and that she would more than likely accept it without judgement. From there, she didn't ask any more questions on the matter, trusting him to tell her when the time was right.

Ratchet seemed to relax and looked out at the shifting colors on the ocean with interest.

He was so absorbed into his own thoughts, he didn't notice a commotion down on the beach. Bobbi leaned over and tugged on his sleeve. "Hm?" The doctor looked over at her questioningly. The mute smiled and pointed. Ironhide and the crimson and gold twin set were sparring on the sand. "Those idiots best not injure themselves." The red and white doctor muttered in partial amusement, leaning forward on his knees to watch.

Bobbi laughed silently and joined him in spectating the spar. Ironhide would swing and grab for the twins, only for his targets to dance just out of reach. In turn, they would strike back at the larger warrior, only for his experience to allow him to dodge them both and slip away. It was a dance that didn't seem to end.

Ironhide had the superior strength, size, and experience. But the twins were young, fast, and cunning. Not to mention there were two of them. The black haired male said something to the other two and they all stopped for a moment.

The mute tilted her head in confusion until the three turned towards them. Sideswipe pointed at them and yelled, "HEY! BOBS!" The field medic scowled at the nickname, "WHY DON'CHA JOIN US?!"

"YOU THICK HELMED DOLT!" Ratchet roared, pulling a wrench from no where, "SHE'S INJURED!" He threw his wrench as hard as he could, and, even from this distance, nailed Sideswipe in the forehead.

The red twin fell over with a thud. His twin blinked down at him blankly before shrugging, his arms crossed, and looking back up at us. Sides, undeterred, pulled himself to his feet and grinned up at them. Bobbi struggled against a smile. He was unharmed, and she couldn't help but to find the situation funny. "THEN WHY DON'T YOU COME DOWN HERE IN HER PLACE, HUH?! SHOW OFF FOR YOUR FEMME!"

His words brought a tinge of color to Ratchet's cheeks, but the doctor only scoffed, "I WOULD NOT BE SO CRASS AS TO-"

"OH, I UNDERSTAND! OF COURSE YOU'D BE SCARED! SUNNY AND I COULD WHIP YOUR AFT EASY!"

Bobbi had never seen Ratchet stiffen up so much before. Or get such a deadly spark in his eye. Carefully, he stood. "Shall we join them?" He offered a hand to the sitting woman, his voice cool and yet she could hear the rage bubbling beneath its surface.

He was _pissed_.

Nodding, she accepted his hand and let him pull her to her feet. He released her hand, making the mute instantly miss the warmth and comfort that went with it. Mentally slapping herself, Bobbi followed the doctor down the stairs and towards the outside. He was silent the entire time, waves of dark intent rolling off of him. Soldiers gave them a wide berth as they walked. Bobbi increased her speed slightly so that she was at Ratchet's side, and gently laid a hand on his shoulder in a gentle, silent question.

He glanced down at her briefly with a snort, then seemed to relax slightly. Satisfied, a smile playing at her lips, the mute dropped her hand from his shoulder, despite the fact that she didn't want to. But, more than likely, he would find it weird if she kept her hand there.

Sighing through her nose, Bobbi blinked past the fading sunlight as they exited the base. "What was that, youngling?" Ratchet questioned coolly, rolling his sleeves up. Sides only grinned mischievously and jumped back a few paces. "You think I can't put you and your brother in your places? Is that it?" He sounded even and cool, but the mute knew a volcano was just waiting to open up and spew molten liquid forth.

"You think you can?" The red twin questioned slyly, "How about two on two? You and 'Hide versus Sunny and me."

"Don't call me that." The partially blonde twin grunted.

Bobbi wondered if he spoke caveman.

"Sounds fine to me." Ratchet swept over to Ironhide and took up a stance beside him. The twins shifted back away from them, and took their own positions. The mute quickly found a safe spot off to the side to watch and sat down in the soft sand. Settling in carefully, she turned her eyes to the brewing spar. Her heart sped up in its tempo when Ratchet glanced over at her, then refocused on the twins. His muscles flexed and his eyes narrowed in thought. He would beat them, right in front of her.

After all, most males enjoys showing off to a pretty female.

Especially if their interested.

(Distractions from the deaths of your teammates are good. Especially if the distraction involves a sexy doctor. *Cough, cough* Ahem.

Anyway, Chapters may slow down for a while, because _holidays_.

In the morning, family is coming over for my close family's Thanksgiving dinner. Then, in a few days, we're going to another dinner with my dad's family. Lots of cooking to prepare for both. Then there's Christmas. I have to crochet- one of my useful skills, which are very few- a bunch of presents for people and wrap them. I've got a lot done but I've got a lot more to go.

I AM SO SORRY IF THIS CHAPPY SEEMS RUSHED OR MISSING SOMETHING!

*Cough, choke, cough* What the hell? TWELVE chapters already?! What is this sorcery?!

Please leave me a review with your thoughts? Constructive criticism on how to get better at writing is VERY much wanted and appreciated!)


	13. Show Offs And Realization

Everything was still and quiet for a moment. Bobbi waited, holding her breath at the tension in the air. Then, everyone sprang into motion, launching themselves at each other with a speed she didn't think was possible. Ironhide crouched low and threw a punch at Sideswipe's stomach, to which the red haired twin leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the powerful hit. Sunstreaker swung his whole body to Ratchet's left and tried to kick him in the side of the head. Ratchet simply twisted slightly, out of the way and grabbed onto the yellow twin's ankle. Smirking evilly, the doctor twisted and threw Sunny to the side.

Bobbi watched, wide eyed, as the young man hit the ground and rolled with a grunt, only to flip back to his feet gracefully and join the fray again, not fazed in the least.

They were all so graceful. It made her feel as if she were a clumsy newborn foal. Wide eyed, the mute leaned forward to watch the dance. Yes, it closely resembled a dance, she mentally decided in slight awe. Ratchet and Ironhide weren't as fast as the twins, but they had more strength and experience, not to mention endurance and size. It didn't help that all four knew each other like the backs of their hands. Bobbi could see they knew each other just as well as they knew themselves.

One would have to be a fool not to see it in the way they moved. The way they supported one another and seemed to know what their sparring partner would do mere moments before the move was executed, able to block it quickly and counter with their own move, only to have it blocked as well. It was a contest of pure skill.

Bobbi thought it was beautiful.

It was hard to keep up with them, however; they seemed to move faster than what should be possible for a human. Not to mention, her eyes refused to look from Ratchet's God-blessed form. He twisted and spun gracefully to avoid attacks and to counter, movements never slowing or ceasing. She could see the muscles hidden beneath his clothes and skin bunching, coiling, and then springing free when he so chose. It left her breathless and wanting to see more, her eyes tracking his swiftly moving form.

"Hmph. You were saying, youngling?" Bobbi blinked multiple times to refocus herself. Ratchet was now sitting on Sideswipe's back, arms crossed and a sexy, smug smirk on his face that made the mute's body warm and her heart flutter.

"Yeah, yeah." Sides huffed, "Get off of me you old fart, your heavy!" The red twin complained. Chuckling, the 'old man' got off of the troublemaker.

Ironhide and Sunstreaker stood off to the side; the golden twin was examining his side and muttering something to the older man that made him bellow with laughter.

Apparently Ironhide and Ratchet had won. So, shaking her head free of those strange thoughts, the mute hauled herself to her feet and headed over to congratulate them. "I still get rewarded with a pretty girl! What a day!" Sides cheered, leaping at the tiny woman and crushing her into a hug. Bobbi let out a silent squeak and stiffened, arms trapped against her sides, eyes wide. She hoped- prayed really- that if she held completely still and waited, he would release her and turn his attention from her.

Ratchet let out a warning growl, deep and dark. A shiver ran down Bobbi's spine and she ducked her warm face in embarrassment, missing the smug looks he got from the twins and the knowing look Ironhide shot him. Still, Sides let her go and she let out a relieved breath as her feet carried her a few steps back and away from his steel like hold. Shooting the other men an unamused look, the doctor stepped around them, uttering something about work in an almost rude way, and stormed back towards the base.

Brow furrowed in confusion, the mute raced after him, wondering what had gotten into him and not wanting to stay with these strange people she didn't know. What had crawled up his ass and died?

The electric blue eyed man's stride was swift and wide, making it difficult for the small, four foot eight woman to keep up with him, but she managed. Catching up with him and keeping at his side, she eyed him confusedly. Once they were inside and out of sight of the other men, Ratchet's pace slowed and Bobbi could stop struggling so much and breathe easier. After a moment, her chest stopped its uneven rhythm, returning to its normal motions, and her heart calmed. The doctor shot her a concerned, apologetic look, which she waved off. It wasn't like he had hurt her or anything.

He didn't say anything as he headed down a hallway, and so she didn't bother him as she followed. Bobbi wasn't sure why she followed him. If you asked her, she would shrug and motion that she was curious. But, that wasn't the reason. It really wasn't.

For some reason, her heart clenched with the worry that something was bothering him. That something was hurting him.

Suddenly, however, Ratchet stopped and turned to the side so that he face her head on. Perplexed, Bobbi turned slightly to face him as well, looking upwards at him with her wide eyes and furrowed brow. Those blue eyes sent her mind tumbling with concerned thoughts. They were clouded with emotion, never ceasing in their shifting. They seemed ancient, she found herself thinking, as if he had lived a thousand lifetimes and more. It sent shivers down her spine, and thrust her heart into a flutter.

Seeming to reach a decision of some sort, he nodded and pivoted on his heel. "You should get some rest, its late and you have training tomorrow. I'm going back to the med bay to take care of some things." Bobbi felt a pang at his sudden dismissal, but did not allow herself to feel hurt or anger. Clearly, something was bothering Ratchet, and it wasn't her place to force an answer out of him. If he was cracking, breaking, and showed her, fine. She would help and put him back together, just like she had done before.

This time though, it was clear he didn't want her help.

Whether he needed her help was another view entirely and remained to be seen.

Still, Bobbi stood there and quietly watched him as he marched off, his gait stubborn and quick.

Almost like he was running away from her.

Rolling her eyes and brushing the ridiculous thought off, the mute turned and headed for her room, ignoring the fact that the little seedling of doubt _refused _to _fuck the hell off _and continued to pester her from the back of her mind, needling insistently. Irritated by it, Bobbi stalked to her quarters in a silent rage. The other soldiers avoided her more so than normal, as if sensing her anger and not wanting to be the target of it.

Reaching her room, the field medic hesitated before quietly opening the door and stepping in. It was pitch black inside, and silent. Yet, she could sense Tammy inside.

When you work, sleep, eat, and train alongside someone twenty-four seven, you tend to become sensitive to their presence. It didn't help that the blonde was carrying around a stormy aura of sorrow. Bobbi could feel it a mile away, like a giant stone on her chest, crushing her.

Moving slowly, so as not to accidentally bump into anything, the mute turned the light on with a flick of her fingers over the switch. There was a lump under the blanket's of Tammy's bed, completely covered and alerting Bobbi to where she was.

Suddenly feeling tired, and unexplainably ancient, the tiny woman closed the door behind her and began to strip her dirty, sweat soaked uniform off.

Now alone and without a distraction, the deaths of her two teammates crashed into her chest like a tidal wave, leaving Bobbi breathless and pained. Tears gathering in her eyes, stubbornly burning her angrily, she continued stripping down.

By the time she finished, silent tears were dripping down her cheeks in slow drops. Swallowing thickly, unable to stop crying, Bobbi scooped her dirty clothes up and dropped them in the designated 'dirty clothes' basket.

She was trembling, incapable of doing much. In her state, she was unable to think clearly, or see through the tears. Her judgement was impaired.

Aware of this, Bobbi clambered into bed, trembling, gripping her sheets tightly in both hands as she curved her spine and pulled herself into a fetal position.

Naked, silently sobbing, the small soldier laid there and mourned the loss of her team members, letting that dam break.

John had been the light of the group. His bouncy, happy-go-lucky attitude easily brightened anyone's day, and he was always cracking a joke. Through this, he made their days easier, their bodies not hurt quite so bad, and brought a smile even to the stoniest of faces. He was Tammy's lover, and the one who meant so very much to her.

And now he was gone. Swept away far too soon.

And Larry. Oh, Bobbi had never known he was so… psychotic. Anti-social and strange, perhaps. But not so creepy, unforgiving, unremorseful, and guiltless. He had murdered John in cold blood, without feeling. It made her shake with both anger and sadness. She just couldn't understand it. Side by side, they had worked and lived tirelessly together, for so many more years than she and Tammy had.

How could Larry just kill him like that? Talk to him like that with such a cold face? Without any hint of regret? How could he lie to all of them like that, and then never once question his allegiance to these 'Decepticons'?

Bobbi would never forget their title, what they were known as.

In her mind, they were just as responsible for John's death as Larry was. And she would destroy them all, if not for herself and John, then for Tammy. Poor, beautiful Tammy who always talked in her sleep excitedly, waking Bobbi up, and making her smile as she realized what she was talking about. Getting married, having children, having a normal life without the military, and just… being _normal_.

All with John. And now she had to take those steps either alone, or with someone else.

The sobbing increased, wracking her body painfully as she remembered their faces, the expressions she last saw before they died. _How _they died.

John's was one of determination and fear. Not the fear of the unknown, of the darkness, of death itself. But fear for his girlfriend and _family_.

John considered them his family. His group. He had been afraid for them. Even Larry, had been considered in that group. Bobbi was painfully aware of that. She herself had considered Larry a somewhat friend after spending all that time with him, even though it wasn't as much as John and the others had spent with him.

Larry's had been one of anger and twisted glee. The strumming happiness, rage, and adrenaline that came with the thrill of a good battle, or a good hunt. He wasn't the Larry she knew, or had grown to trust and respect. Then again, that Larry had never existed. Never once. It had all been an elaborate lie.

One she had fallen for.

Finally, Bobbi had no more tears to cry. Nothing more to give.

She laid there among the sheets, limp and tired, before hauling herself up weakly. Oh, she was so tired, so worn out, but she couldn't leave the light on like that, it would probably eventually wake Tammy. Hesitating, reluctant, she wavered by her bed, on shaky legs.

She couldn't go to bed like this. What if an emergency drill was called? They expected you to run out in your pajamas if it was completely serious. If she was butt ass naked…

Groaning, Bobbi convinced herself to haul her night clothes out and rip them on clumsily, guilt, sorrow and agony making her shaky and weak.

When she was dressed, she found her body moving of its own accord. Walk over to the wall, flick the switch, turn, head back to bed.

She collapsed there, and didn't move, falling into an uneasy, nightmare riddled sleep. Tossing and turning, it was no surprise to her when the slightest sound shot her awake.

Bobbi pulled herself upward into a sitting position, and hunched forward, bloodshot eyes searching for the cause of the noise. It was dark, and therefore hard to see, but she could see her helmet laying upside down a few feet from the bed, along with her boots. Then, slowly, her eyes adjusted and she could make out the form of Tammy, curled up on her bed, her body giving little shakes every once in a while.

Tiredly, the mute debated on her next move.

She wasn't good at comforting people. It just wasn't included in the training she was given. Not to mention, she grew up with three males in the house and only one other female, who was a tomboy to begin with. Bobbi wasn't sure how to handle this. Ratchet had been a shot in the dark, and she was certain others could have done better.

What to do… what to do… aw, hell. She couldn't just _leave _Tammy like this. That was the worst she could do, right? Exhaling harshly through her nose, the field medic slipped out of bed and crept over to the quietly whimpering blonde.

Silently grunting to herself in slight irritation, the tiny woman got up onto the bed, and pulled Tammy into an upright embrace. The blue eyed female fought tooth and nail- smacking Bobbi good in the eye, causing her to let out a silent cry of pain, but no more- before realizing who it was, and blubbering in apology. Having released the blonde, Bobbi grasped at her smarting eye, wincing in pain.

Well, she thought, that didn't go quite as planned. Sighing softly through her mouth, she shook her head at the younger woman. It was fine.

"I… I'm s-sorry… I didn't mean.. t-to wake you… I-I was j-just…" Tammy hiccuped and coughed before dissolving back into tears. Bobbi, wary of another punch to the eye, wrapped her arms around the bigger woman in an attempt to comfort her.

She didn't expect her to throw both of her arms around the tiny woman, and practically crush Bobbi to her well endowed chest. "He's _gooooooonnnnnnne!_" Tammy wailed into Bobbi's shoulder and neck junction, sobbing and shaking.

Sorrow squeezing her heart tightly, the mute cradled the mass of weeping female. Following instinct, Bobbi began to gently rub circles in the other woman's back, crooning to her silently. Tammy bawled out her pain and agony into the tiny frame against her own before slowly calming and coming to a stop. She had no more tears, no more energy. She couldn't continue. Bobbi released her as Tams withdrew from her, relaxing and hunching in on herself. Yet, the brunette could see that the blonde was slightly better.

She was still hurting, and Bobbi knew it would take a lot more time before she completely healed, but she was better for now. "I'm sorry." The whisper made the mute shake her head stubbornly. It was a perfectly natural response to cry. No shame or harm done. Tammy leaned forwards so that they were only a few inches from one another, seeming to draw comfort and strength from Bobbi's very presence.

"...I'm going to retire from the military." The words drew two raised eyebrows from the field medic, "Oh, don't give me that look." The blonde murmured tiredly. Bobbi tilted her head and nodded twice in thoughtfulness, mouthing that she'd like to hear _why _Tammy wanted to do such a thing.

"J-John and I…" She sucked in a deep breath of pain at his name, but continued, "We were _asked _to join the military because of how high our performance rating was… our I.Q.'s and physical attributes were… impressive, I guess. And… and we joined together. As a couple. We urged one another on and… and that's how we made it. Together. And now… that he's gone… I don't think I…" She trailed off.

Bobbi nodded in sympathetic empathy. Not pity. Pity was the worst thing you could give. But she did sympathize, and could understand why. Tammy and John had drawn off of each other's energy, making them a formidable force, both on and off the battlefield. Bobbi had to respect that they were strong when in one another's presence. Like two opposing elements that augmented one another.

"Th-That's not all of it though…" Tammy was breathing unevenly now, brokenly,

"...?" Bobbi gestured for her to continue.

"I'm pregnant with John's child!" The wail of grief, and agony, mixed with pain, made Bobbi's eyes widen. Preg… nant… she gapped at the woman's flat stomach. No joke? Holding a child? Carrying?

Holy shit.

Bobbi acted quickly, drawing the blonde back into her arms in order to comfort her. "Th-this child… it will n-never know its father!" The blonde sobbed against her painfully. The mute waited until she had calmed, just holding her and letting her know she was there. Finally, when Tammy was sniffling and breathing hard through her mouth, Bobbi relaxed her hold on her. But the blonde didn't draw back this time.

"You… You don't… hate me… f-for leaving… do you?" The broken, whimpered words made Bobbi's face soften. She shook her head gently against Tammy's, knowing the blonde would feel it. "D-Do you think…. Evan will…?" Again, she shook her head, "Oh… thank God… thank… G-God…" Tammy let out a warbling moan of grief and relief. She wouldn't be hated. Bobbi ran a gentle hand up and down the other woman's back repeatedly. The normally hyperactive woman just laid against her tiredly.

She hadn't even noticed Bobbi was naked. Then again, it didn't really matter at all.

Bobbi stayed there until Tammy's breath evened out and fell asleep. Feeling weighed down with this new knowledge, the mute twisted and laid the blonde down gently, tucking her into the bed with ease. She didn't so much as twitch from the realm of sleep.

Not wanting to sleep, Bobbi slowly got ready for the day, pulling on a new, clean, crisp uniform and pulling her helmet on. It didn't matter though. Lennox had insisted they take three days leave on base, to get over their loss and mourn properly.

To Bobbi, it was like a death sentence. She was a work-a-holic, especially when shit got bad. It was how she got through it and couped. Keeping busy. Lennox didn't seem to understand that, and she couldn't very well tell him otherwise. Maybe she could find something else to do on base… like cover for the other soldiers in secret.

Left to her thoughts, Bobbi sat down on the edge of her bed before glancing at the clock in curiosity.

The numbers '3:38' blinked back at her mockingly. For once, Bobbi didn't feel the overwhelming urge to smash the damn annoying thing.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her elbows on her knees, hands linking together gently between them, allowed her head to fall forwards, and just sat there.

She didn't move so much as an inch until the alarm went off in its annoying blaring.

Ratchet didn't know what was wrong with him. He had no idea what was going on. Right until he had been walking away from the other Autobots.

At first, it had just been to get away from them. But the reason changed once he was inside, walking alongside that tiny human.

His spark had lunged for her.

It had wanted her.

Frustration welled up within the doctor and he slammed his holoform's hands on top of his desk in a muted rage, lips curling back to bare his teeth to the world. This was _wrong _on _so _many levels. She was human. He was… he was...

He was not.

His spark couldn't, shouldn't, normally wouldn't react like that to a human. But it had. It wanted her as his sparkmate. But what would that do to her? How would she react? The tiny femme didn't know _anything _about him or his kind. Clambering up and off of his seat, Ratchet began to pace restlessly, spark humming with irritation and frustration at its holder.

Ratchet ignored it.

"Go away!" The snarl left his lips before he could stop it as the doors to the med bay opened and someone walked in. "Can't you see it's in the middle of the-" He whirled around, ready to give the poor fool a piece of his mind, only for the words to die on his lips. The 'poor fool' was Optimus. Ratchet snapped his mouth shut and clenched his jaw irritably. His leader merely stood there, one eyebrow raised, eyes sparkling with something that made the doctor wary. It was of wisdom and _knowing_.

"What can I do for you, Prime?" Ratchet groused, turning away from those knowing eyes that made him so uncomfortable.

"More like, what can I do for you, old friend?" Optimus's baritone voice was deep and kind, gentle and understanding as he approached his CMO, his gait slow and even.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ratchet scoffed, busying himself with re-organizing his desk and everything around it. Bobbi had organized it, Ratchet knew that much, and his spark hummed at the thought and warmed.

She had taken the time to do something nice for him, and it touched his spark.

How thoughtful.

And so, he stopped, hands hovering above the items. He couldn't bring himself to redo all of her efforts. Clearly, she had done her best, as she hadn't moved things too far from their designated areas and had been careful not to misplace a single thing.

Ratchet was startled out of his thoughts as Optimus laid a hand on his shoulder, comforting and insistent. "Someone has caught your optic, my friend."

The doctor slumped under his hand and sighed in defeat, yet he didn't say anything.

"She is a kind hearted femme, with many good qualities. I think she would do you a world of good." The CMO snorted at his Prime's words.

"She is human."

"I never knew you to be one to hold a being's species against them, Ratchet." Optimus's words were gentle and prodding.

Growling, the doctor shrugged his leader's hand off and began to pace.  
>"She is human. I'm Cybertronian. It wouldn't work."<p>

"Love is not about fitting together perfectly. It is working through every obstacle and hurdle. As a team." Optimus fixed him with a kind, yet pinning look. Ratchet didn't slow in his pacing, but his mind flipped onto a different track.

"She has no idea what I am."

"She will at the end of this week, provided she is stable enough to handle the information."

"She won't have anything to do with me after that. I need to stay away from her, put some distance between us." He was thinking out loud now, chunking every reason why he shouldn't get close to this femme at his leader, who easily deflected every single one of them without hesitation. Without any surprise.

"Miss Bellmark does not seem like someone who would allow appearances to sway her judgement." Optimus countered.

Ratchet stopped at a medical berth. Belatedly, he realized it was the one Bobbi had laid in the last time she was in his medbay.

He had nothing else to throw at his Prime. Nothing left to protest with.

"Ratchet." The calm, soft voice reached him easily in the silent medbay. Ratchet turned his head slightly to look at Optimus over his shoulder.

"Promise me something."

"..."

"Promise me you will give this a chance." Those blue eyes were insistent and gentle. Coaxing and kind.

"...I… promise." Ratchet never could deny his leader anything, and his spark hummed happily with the conclusion of this conversation. It wanted her. And it would get her.

"I suggest you get some sleep, old friend. It will be a long day tomorrow." Optimus turned and left with a smile playing at his lips. Everything would work out fine.

He left Ratchet standing by the berth that still had Bobbi's scent clinging to it.

A scent which smelled very different from other humans. He could only describe it as lightning, and earth. Dewy and damp earth with the stinging heat and muskiness that came with the bright light humans called lightning. He liked it. A lot.

"Right…" Ratchet sighed out a belated response to his leader's words, even though he was no longer in the room and wouldn't hear him.

He wouldn't be sleeping that night.

(Oh. My. Primus. How long has it been since the last chapter? That's right. Too damn long. So I made this one longer then the previous ones. That's right, I'm a nice person.

*Ahem* I'm almost done with Christmas presents, though I've got a few more to go.

Punching a chair hurts, don't do it. An older friend of mine says I may have fractured my hand in my accidental punching, but its feeling better now.

I am learning Piano, Programming, and Spanish all at once so I'm really friggin' busy. I will try and get the next chapter out soon though!

My goal for this fanfic is 20 chapters, let's see if I can make it.

*Le gasp* Tammy is prego?! Bobbi is still oblivious to her feelings?! Ratchet found out about his own?! OPTIMUS IS A SUPER HERO AND CAME TO THE RESCUE SAY WHAT?!

Please leave a review with your thoughts! o3o)


	14. Bobbi Hates Her Goddamn Job

The alarm blared. Bobbi ignored it. It continued its caterwauling until Tammy dragged herself from the bed, lumbered over- and punched it.

The mute stared, eyes widened in a mix of horror and confusion. The blonde was usually quite gentle with her alarm clock, protecting it from the field medic's wrathful hatred. Bobbi watched as Tam stood there, arms hanging at her sides limply, head down. "I… feel sick…" The sudden words made the tiny woman's eyes widen further, if possible, and she watched as the blonde charged into the small half-bathroom attached to the side of the room. Really, all it contained with a toilet and a sink, but it was enough.

Feeling awkward, Bobbi headed over to Tammy and pulled her hair out of the way, rubbing her back. This felt so _weird_.

After several moments, the blonde laid there, still, moaning weakly. Taking the initiative, Bobbi looped her arms under Tammy's armpits and hauled her up to her feet. 'Come on… let's get you washed up.' She willed the thought in the bigger woman's direction. This strain was hurting her chest and wounds, making her scowl in pain. As if finally coming to her senses and realizing what was going on, Tammy lurched to her feet and leaned over the sink, hurriedly washing her mouth out and free of the nasty bile.

Bobbi waited patiently, rubbing her chest lightly where the pain was the worst. "Sorry!" Tammy gasped against the sink, leaning on it heavily, the water stopped. The mute shook her head- this was far from being her fault. Swallowing thickly, the blonde whispered painfully, "This is going to be hard…" Of course it was. For most of her life, Tammy had had John at her side. Now he was gone. She had only herself now, Bobbi knew she just simply couldn't measure up to what the redhead had been to the blonde.

Tiredly sighing through her nose, the tiny woman hugged the terrified other woman. In silence, they stood there for what seemed like forever before Bobbi released her, and Tammy began to move around and get ready for the day. "Its strange… they knew I was pregnant before they normally would…" The blonde mumbled, "I swear they've got a psychic on their side."

Bobbi snorted and tried not to laugh. Clearly, the blonde had been watching too much Supernatural. Awesome show, that was.

Heartbreaking though.

Rolling her eyes, the mute made a motion with her hand and headed for the door. "Alright. Stay safe Bobs." The field medic nodded and slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her firmly before moving down the hallway. She couldn't bring herself to get onto Tammy for the nickname. She hadn't called the mute that previously, so Bobbi chalked it up to her wanting to feel closer to John.

Bobbi made her way further down the quiet hallway. Everyone else was no doubt at breakfast. She didn't feel hungry. Sighing through her nose, the mute moved around a corner and headed for the main hanger. Maybe she could sneak into training and no one would notice. It felt surreal, moving down the hallway without her team.

The field medic didn't like it at all. They should be here, with her, at her side, joking and having fun. Irritated at her bitter thoughts, Bobbi shook her head to brush them away and entered the main hanger. It was silent, missing its usual bustle of soldiers meeting up and heading to their training courses. Quite a few vehicles were missing as well. Confused, Bobbi looked around as she stepped further into the completely silent hanger. This was really, _really _fucking creepy. She turned around, checking over her shoulder occasionally.

"Looking for someone?" The male voice to her side made her jump and let out a silent scream, flailing in their direction in a pathetic form of attack.

"Woah woah woah! Easy!" Epps threw his hands up, stepping back hurriedly out of her attack range. Bobbi scowled up at him as she calmed, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Still glaring, the mute crossed her arms and glared at him harshly. Damn asshole had scared the hell out of her. Moron.

Epps seemed to understand her silent words because he chuckled in amusement before speaking, "A lot of people are deployed on missions right now, so you won't see very many people on base."

Bobbi's brow furrowed and she uncrossed her arms to gesture with her hands in question. Epps blinked at her blankly. She slapped a hand to her face. God. Dammit. Why was she surrounded by people that couldn't understand her? Why? Just… why?

Sighing, she pointed to herself blatantly before pointing at the door to the outside world. Understanding dawned on the African-American. "Ah. You weren't picked this time because of… things. But you will be next week, don't worry."

Pain flashed through her, but she didn't let it show. That was to be expected when you lost a team member. Exaggerating her movements so the man would understand, Bobbi slumped over and silently groaned pathetically.

"Hey, I like you." Epps grinned, "This is like playing charades. Too cool." The mute stared up at the man-child blankly. What. The. Hell? Something was wrong with him. Very wrong.

"You need something to do, right?" The look he gave her was one of someone who completely understood what she was going through. The field medic slumped in relief, pleased there was at least one person who knew what the hell was going on with her.

Bobbi nodded enthusiastically, her work-a-holic nature rearing its terribly large head right alongside her sense of duty. She was here to do a job. Not sit on her ass all day mourning the life of someone who wouldn't have _wanted _to be mourned. John wouldn't ever want that. He'd want them to continue on with their lives and make the best of it. Even she, who had only known him for about two weeks, knew that. The redhead had been pretty clear in his wants and desires. Easy to read.

"Come on, I need your help with this repair gig I've got." Epps turned around, gesturing for her to follow, and walked off with a grin. Feeling wary at that foreboding smile, Bobbi followed the taller man to what she sincerely hoped wasn't her doom. The African-American soldier led her down several mostly empty halls, with only one or two people here and there, before stopping in the middle of one. Bobbi looked around in confusion.

There was nothing special about the middle of this particular hall. It was the exact same size as the others; though it had more doors it seemed. The mute fixated a confused look in Epps's direction, wanting to know what was going on. The African-American grinned in response and pointed upwards without a word. Slowly, afraid of what she was going to find, Bobbi lifted her eyes up the ceiling…

And saw a vent.

It was large. Big enough to climb through. Well, Epps was too big to do so, but she probably could with ease. Realization dawned on her as the mute fixated her gaze on the male at her side. "...?" She pointed upwards with wide eyes.

"Yep. There's something making noise up there. Soldiers have been complaining about it, says it keeps them up all night. So, you're going to go up there and check it out. Kay? Kay. I'll give you a boost up." At Epps's words, Bobbi shook her head back and forth very quickly. No, no, no, no. She had _claustrophobia_!

The African-American nodded his head in response to her shaking. And continued until she stopped. The field medic scowled.

What a frustrating asshole. He grinned in response, as if he could hear her mental thoughts. Bobbi rolled her eyes and huffed aloud angrily. It seemed she had no choice. Well, at least she had something to do.

Seeming to sense that he had won, Epps smirked smugly, linked his hands together, and held them outwards while crouching down slightly. Feeling awkward, the brunette put her hands on his shoulders and her foot in his linked hands. As she pushed upwards off his hands, he pushed her up towards the vent. 'Well,' Bobbi thought, 'If I fall, my helmet will at least stop my head from being cracked open.'

With that rather cheerful thought in mind, she reached up and tugged on the side of the vent. Instead of falling downwards like she expected; it slid to the side easily. "Good luck." Epps grunted, and pushed her higher up. Bobbi clenched her teeth, hooked her hands on the sides of the vent, and pulled herself up. Letting out a heavy breath, she shoved herself to the left; the open side of the vent, and found herself laying on her side in the shaft.

The scent of dust and slight mildew filled her nostrils, making her wrinkle her nose. Disgusting. Didn't they ever clean up here? Pissed off at the cleaning crew, Bobbi began to army crawl down the dark shaft and look for the disturbance. So far, nothing. Below her, she could hear Epps muttering under his breath about something or another.

Narrowing her eyes, Bobbi pushed herself forward in a steady crawl, ignoring how the sides seemed to press in around her. She ignored the scared shitless feeling she had and swallowed thickly. Stopping a moment, the mute took several deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart, which was pounding in her ears.

After a moment, it slowed… and she could hear a steady, rather loud pounding noise deeper in.

Feeling accomplished, Bobbi grinned and began to army crawl once more within the confined space of the vent. She followed the thumping a little deeper and slightly around a corner, before her eyes finally met the issue.

It looked like the side of the vent had been blown open. Instead of it leading outside or into a room, however, there was circuitry. Most of the cables and plug-ins were relatively small but had no meaning to her. Bobbi was not an electrician or anything else of the sort. This didn't make sense to her. What she did understand though; was the one cable, bigger than the others, swinging back and forth while sparking, the power running through it making it thrash in the air and smack against the wall opposite of it.

It looked like it had frayed and broken; or been severed somehow. She didn't pretend to know what had happened. Really, she didn't know. But it was severed, it was sparking, and it was jerking around and smacking the wall. And keeping those soldiers up.

Mission accomplished, she had found the source of the noise. Now to head back.

Panic flared up as the field medic realized she couldn't turn around. Her chest tightened, her breathing quickened, and her heart pounded furiously. Clenching her jaw, the mute forcefully took deep breaths and tried to calm herself, fighting the fog of terror back. It was all right, she would just try to scoot backwards. It was fine. She would be careful and use her toes to search for the opening that she had come from.

Slowly, she managed to do so, though it was far from painless and terror threatened to engulf her every five seconds. Finally, she found the hole, her toe finding no metal to touch and only air. Scowling, Bobbi slammed her hand down on the metal in front of her face in order to get Epps's attention. "You're back. Did you find anything? Go ahead and jump down, I'll catch you."

Groaning, the mute summoned all of her courage and shoved herself backwards, out of the damned metal vent.

For a moment, there was the sensation of free-falling… and then hard contact with another human body. Epps grunted under her weight, but her fellow soldier didn't go under, instead easily holding her aloft in his arms. "You're really light…" He mumbled, and dropped her on her feet. Bobbi rolled her eyes, stretching slightly and taking joy in her freedom from the confined space above her head.

"So what was making the noise?" At his question, Bobbi gestured with her hands and mouthed the words, "...Yeeeaaaaahhhh, I didn't understand any of that." She scowled angrily at him before counting backwards from ten mentally to calm herself. "Here, use this." Epps reached into his pockets, pulling forth a notepad and ballpoint pen. He held it out to her in offering. Working her jaw and popping it, the mute accepted the items and scribbled down what she found within the vent.

She had to remind herself not to write in cursive.

When finished, she handed it back to the man and waited patiently for him to read it. Dark eyes flicked over it before he grimaced in distaste. "Ugh. Great. Well, I think the med bay has the supplies we need. Let's go check it out, get you decked out, and we'll see about fixing the issue." Bobbi stared at him in open horror.

_She had to go back UP there?!_ Mentally groaning, she let her head fall forward and hung it there. Epps chuckled, "Come on soldier, let's go." He turned and began to walk, expecting her to follow him.

Bobbi complied and stayed on his heels, staring at the ground. This was gonna suck so bad. She _so _did not like tight spaces. Hated them. Completely and totally.

Her job sucked sometimes.

The field medic was ripped from her mental complaining when she bumped into Epps's back and stumbled slightly, stopping. The African-American was staring upwards at the giant doors into the med bay with a pale, fearful face. "Um… You know what, why don't you go in and get the supplies? I can wait out here. I'll even give you a list to give Ratch'." He grinned at her weakly. Bobbi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't give me that look! Ratchet's friggin' scary as fuck, okay?" Epps frowned. Rolling her eyes, the mute stepped around him and opened the doors with a press of a button. She could sense him hiding behind her, and breathed out a heavy sigh.

Really? A nearly six foot man was hiding behind a tiny four foot eight inch woman. Just… really?

Deciding to ignore him for now, Bobbi stepped into the med bay, unafraid. What had she to fear? Ratchet had never hit her with a wrench. He had been nothing but polite to her. Really, people were just morons around him. Most of the time, they deserved to be hit with a wrench and rather needed it. Besides, she had a feeling that was his gruff, rough way of saying he cared and he wanted them to be safe.

The mute sighed, grabbed Epps's shoulder, and yanked him around to her side. He whimpered. She rolled her eyes yet again and began to start walking forward. He hid behind her again like a child. Twitching with pure irritation, annoyance, and anger, she decided to let it go for now and continue walking to where Ratchet usually would be. Behind his desk. With Epps practically glued to her back, Bobbi headed deeper into the med bay.

Epps mumbled aloud that he really hoped the Hatchet was in a good mood today.

Bobbi thought he was being ridiculous.

(Holy SHIT! Over 50 followers?!

I'm honored guys. I really am. Thank you SO much. So, here's another chappy.

Ah, Bobbi, you always seem to get the shitty jobs, don't you? Fist the icy tundra, then this squad that had a traitor, and now your being shoved into a vent. Fucking hell woman, why do you attract trouble?

I am tired. Now I will sleep. I apologize for any mistakes. I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN OR ANYTHING OF THE SUCH! I do not know if it would really do that, but I'm gonna say Cybertronian tech is weird and it does that sometimes when there's enough power running through it. Kay? Kay.

Please leave me a review with your thoughts!)


	15. Progression Through Questions

Alright. She would admit it. She had been slightly wrong.

Epps's words had some truth to them. Ratchet was somewhat scary.

The doctor snapped something angrily and threw a wrench at Epps; the man-child ducked behind her with a cry of fear. Okay, maybe really scary. Still, she stood her ground stubbornly, ignoring the flying hunk of metal. She had a hunch that Ratchet wouldn't throw anything at her. Though it did little to lessen the fear.

They had entered the med bay, and found Ratchet where Bobbi had predicted. Behind his desk. He was quietly organizing and going through a pile of papers. Seeing as he seemed not to be in a bad mood, Epps had popped out from behind her with a grin. "Hey Ratch'! We need some supplies." The soldier was quick to cut to the chase. It amused the tiny woman greatly how he could transform from a terrified fraidy cat to bouncy and easy going. Like a switch had been flipped in his brain.

"What to do you need and for what? It better not be some stupid reason." The low growl sent shivers down Bobbi's spine. It was like dark chocolate mixed with smooth caramel. Unbelievably sweet and addictive with the perfect amount of bitter bite to it.

Dammit. Why did he have to be so fucking… _seductive?!_

She shook her head and snapped herself out of it as Epps began to describe the issue in the vent to Ratchet and what they needed for the job. The doctor was rather laid back about the whole thing, nodding calmly in understanding and gruffly offering very valuable tips whenever he could… right up until her fellow soldier mentioned just _who _would be going up in the vent to fix the sparking, and rather dangerous issue.

Ratchet's eyes had seemed to glow more so than usual, and had paled to an icy, almost white shade, startling the hell out of Bobbi. He growled lowly and snapped at Epps angrily about how she would _not _be going up there where she could possibly be harmed. Now, they where here. The man-child was hiding behind her terrified, and Ratchet was attempting to lean around her to get at the African-American. She felt like a post. Just standing in the middle of the room, not really a part of the action.

Slowly, her brain started to analyze the situation.

Finally catching up to their sudden change in behavior- Epps from relaxed and easy going back to terrified and child like, and Ratchet from helpful yet rough to murderous- Bobbi put one hand on the doctor's chest, and used her other to grab Epps and whip him around on the side of her body opposite of Ratchet. Calmly, left eye twitching, Bobbi held them in place. Her tiny four foot eight body acting as a barricade and preventing Epps's imminent demise at the doctor's large hands.

Warmth rushed up to her cheeks in waves as Ratchet's firm, lean, slightly muscled chest rumbled beneath her hand in a growl. Swallowing thickly, Bobbi shoved it down and sent him a stern look, not understanding where his over protectiveness was coming from. Yes, he was a doctor, and yes, he was supposed to worry about his team mates…

But not to this extent, right?

"Oh my God, thank you so much." Epps had gotten free of her grasp and was now on the other side of the room. Ratchet sneered, but seemed to realize Bobbi wasn't going to let him maim the other man. Disatisfied, the doctor ceased attempting to maul poor Epps with his beloved wrench of wellness. "You will send someone else." The doctor proceeded to pull out another hunk of metal from his lab coat since he had thrown his previous instrument of death, and began to polish it with a worn rag from another pocket.

He didn't order Epps. He didn't command him. He _informed _him.

"But she's the only one currently on base that can fit…" Epps trailed off as Ratchet fixed his abnormally pale, sharp blue eyes on him in a fixated, unwavering gaze. The African-American flinched back and ducked behind a medical bed. Bobbi rolled her eyes. _Men_. Look at them. Talking about her as if she wasn't there. Angrily, brown orbs looked up into almost white ones, narrowed in a harsh glare.

It took him a moment to realize she was fixated on him. Then, those eyes flicked down to stare right at her. For several moments, they were locked in a staring contest. Ratchet was blank faced, but his eyes clashed with emotion, as if fighting with himself. Bobbi just _glared_. After a moment, pale blues slanted and came to a conclusion, relenting in a way. "Fine. But I _will _be present in case of a medical emergency." His tone of voice brooked no argument. The waves of protectiveness coming from him had somewhat subsided, but remained on a smaller scale. Epps was quick to agree.

"Okay, yeah, alright, I'm cool with that. Just… don't hurt me?" The poor soldier was scared Ratchet would start flinging wrenches at him. Bobi was simply pleased the doctor was no longer trying to tell her what to do, though she remained confused as to where this had suddenly come from. Bewildered at the sudden explosion of protectiveness, Bobbi chalked it up to her still being injured and his 'doctor mode'.

Satisfied, Ratchet grunted, the rumbling sensation in the mute's hand reminded her that she was still touching the doctor's chest. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she hurriedly pulled back. What the hell was wrong with her? Scowling, glad for the helmet covering her eyes from view, Bobbi clenched her hands and linked them behind her back in a typical military stance. Damn him…! If he wasn't so goddamn- well- everything, then she wouldn't _have _this problem! Whatever this problem was, anyway.

For a moment, Ratchet gazed down at her blankly. It was hard to see her expression or read her emotions. That _fucking helmet _was in the way. For a moment, he entertained the thought of reaching out and tilting it back to see her expression, or even just pulling it off of her noggin, but then decided against it.

Breathing out of his nose heavily, the doctor turned, "I'll gather up the supplies. Wait outside." The order was firm and without room for protest. Epps, more than happy to get out of the temperamental doctor's sight, grabbed Bobbi's hand and promptly dragged her towards the door. "Okay Ratch', thanks a lot, we'll wait." Before the mute could pull herself free, she was yanked out the huge doors- and they were slammed shut behind them.

Instantly, the African-American released her and slumped against the way, "Phew… I thought I was gonna die there for a while…" The mumbled made Bobbi roll her eyes. Really? As if Ratchet would actually kill him! Maim him a little, maybe, but not kill. Overactive much?

Why was he so protective anyway? It was nice that he wanted her safe and cared enough to be that way. But honestly, was it necessary? Sighing through her nose, Bobbi decided he must have his own reasons for doing what he did and brushed it aside. Really, was it any of her business? Maybe he was that protective about everyone. She couldn't know for sure, after all, she didn't really know him. She had only known him for, at most, a month. Less then a month really.

Frowning to herself, Bobbi dipped her head forward, allowing her old helmet to obscur more of her face.

...She would wait and see how this turned out. On the battlefield it was always best to watch the enemy and their movements. She would do the same with Ratchet.

After several moments of waiting in unbroken silence; the doctor stepped out of the med bay and joined with them with his medical bag. "Let's go. I have the things you will need to fix the issue." For some reason, looking at him, hearing his voice… it made heat rush to her cheek and her heart flutter. Scowling, the female soldier began to lead the way, almost stomping. She stayed a good few feet in front of them, unable to look at Ratchet anymore.

Honestly, what was she, a highschooler? She was in her early to mid twenties for heaven's sake! Huffing, Bobbi led them to the vent spot. How did Ratchet even know so much about electricity and the like anyway? Wasn't he a doctor?

Well… maybe he had some experience with it or something. It wasn't really her business to know. So, once more, the female shrugged her curiosity and questions away. It was best to leave it be. "Well, here it is." Epps's voice brought her from her thoughts. He was pointing upwards at the vent. Ratchet nodded, observing it with a critical eye, before looking frustrated. Perhaps he was noticing just how small it was…

"Alright. Bobbi, you get up there. I'll guide you through what you need to do to fix the break. Here, put these on, they should protect you from being electrocuted." The doctor was gruffer than normal, not at all pleased by this. Still, Bobbi was thankful for his help, and accepted the strange, black, slim gloves he offered her. Carefully, she pulled them on. He handed her the bag before stepping back. Was it wrong that she already missed the warmth that came with his closeness? It was rather irritating, she would admit.

She should not be acting like this. It was completely ridiculous.

When Epps offered his linked hands like last time, Bobbi called forth her knowledge in Parkour and Gymnastics, and, in an explosion of frustration with herself, ran forward the three steps to him, jumped and used his hands as a springboard to _leap _into the open vent. There was silence as she dragged herself back in at a quick pace. The mute ignored the pain in her chest from hitting the metal when she grabbed onto the vent to drag herself in after jumping. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea.

Still, she huffed, it did help with her frustration slightly.

It didn't take long for Bobbi to find the break. It was still thumping steadily, the cable sparking. She kicked the metal below her twice with as much force as she could muster- which wasn't very much- and waited. "That you Bobbi?" Epps's voice was muffled but still came through the vent. She kicked again. "Alright, I'm gonna take a guess and say you've reached the issue." The African-American sounded unsure.

"Miss Bellmark, you will need to begin to mend the break by-" Ratchet began to give her instructions, and the field medic followed through as best she could. She wasn't sure how much time passed in that confined space. Strangely enough, with Ratchet's soft, gruff voice, she didn't panic like she normally did in small places. Still, it was far from being okay. It was still small- that she was aware of despite remaining calm about it- and that still scared her, and the heat from the electricity made her sweat and overheat.

It was slow and tedious work, yet Ratchet's quiet and slow voice more than made up for it. It was like dark chocolate mixed with almonds. Smooth and warm with an undertone of roughness.

The sound caused shivers to run down her spine.

Mentally slapping herself back into focus, Bobbi finished her task with a silent, satisfied grunt and a grin of accomplishment. Ratchet went quiet, and she took that as her cue to head back down.

Placing her hands on either side of the metal shaft, the mute began to shove herself back through it. Though she did fit, it was a rather tight squeeze that she didn't like. Turning around was impossible. So, she did something of a backwards slide of the nastiness that was the inside of the vent. When she reached the opening to the vent, she repeated what she did last time and kicked the metal hard to get the attention of the male's below her.

"Jump down. I've got you." Ratchet's gruff grunt sent raging carnivorous butterflies swarming through her insides. Still, Bobbi put her trust in him and shoved herself from the vent and through the opening.

Again, she felt the air rushing around her as she fell; and then contact with another human body. She smacked against Ratchet firmly with a heavy huff of air and instantly grabbed onto him to keep herself from tumbling from his arms.

The field medic's fear was unfounded as the doctor had one hell of a grip on her the moment she fell into his grasp. Once he was sure Bobbi wasn't about to fall out of his grasp or fall over when he set her down; Ratchet carefully placed her on her feet. The mute easily adjusted, letting him go and nodding in thanks. "Well, that's done." Epps grinned, then wrinkled his nose at her, "Ewwwwww, you smell. Maybe you should take a shower. The others should be back soon." the groan sent a faint tingle of amusement through her.

'Well, if they would clean more often up there...' Bobbi let the thought trail off,

"I've got work to do." Ratchet grumbled as the mute took off the gloves, put them in the bag and handed it all to him. He accepted it, bade her goodbye, and left. The mute could only raise a hand in return, and she found herself standing there and watching after him long after he had turned a corner and disappeared. "..." What was this? This warm feeling she felt around him? It was so strange. She had never felt it before and yet… she kind of liked it. More than she probably should.

"Hello? Anyone home?" A tanned, dark colored hand waved in front of Bobbi's blank, zoned out face impatiently. The woman blinked several times before scowling up at him in irritation. "Hey, you okay? You look a bit out of it." Her sour expression dropped at his sincere concern and she nodded her head to let him know she was alright, touched by his worried expression and tone. Epps grinned, "Well, since you're alright you should shower cause you smell like ass." He waved a hand in front of his face, "Yuck!"

At his teasing, Bobbi pouted good naturedly and shoved at him before mock scolding him silently. "Yeah yeah, I may not be able to hear you, but I understand you." The chuckle brought a smile to her lips. Pushing air out of her nose heavily in a huff, Bobbi waved goodbye to him and began to walk away. "See ya Bobs!" He grinned evilly after her, making her glower at him threateningly before turning and continuing on her way.

The moment he was out of her sight, she slumped tiredly.

Bobbi felt old. Worn. Ancient. Yet she shouldn't. She was still young and in her prime. But the events that had transpired since she had arrived here weighed heavily on her shoulders. Just like when she had been on the war front.

This felt so much like it. She shouldn't be surprised however. This was, after all, a military base, and she was still in the army.

Sighing and already beginning to unbuckle her helmet for a wash, the mute stepped into the shared showers for the female soldiers. Alone, she began to scrub the days work from her flesh, her mind and body winding down for the evening as she thought things over.

Ratchet… now that she wasn't pushing herself to do her job and ignore everything else, she found his behavior odd. True, he had been protective of her before. When Sideswipe had asked her to join in the spar, the doctor had defended her, knowing she was still injured. But today, it had seemed almost explosive and overactive. Honestly, it reeked of danger and she would be lying if she said it didn't scare her.

She'd also be lying if she said it didn't intrigue her and draw her in more.

Bobbi leaned her bare forehead against the cool tile wall. Ratchet was seeming like more and more of a puzzle rather than just her CMO. And while it was fascinating, it was also frustrating.

Groaning silently, she drew her head back and thumped it firmly against the wall. Now wincing in pain, she decided it was best to dry, dress, and get back to her room for the night to sleep. She had a few more days to pull through and then it would all be over.

With that encouragement in mind, Bobbi was able to make it back to her room and settle in for sleep, which seemed to be waiting at the edges of her mind since she hadn't slept much the night before. It was no surprise that she was conked out before Tammy even returned from wherever it was she had gone.

Sleep had a firm grip on Bobbi's mind.

(Oh. My. Primus. Has it really been so long since I've updated?! I apologize! D: But I have not forgotten you all. Everyday I make sure to sit down and work at least a little bit on this to keep the brain juices flowing, I promise.

What is this? Ratchet is seeing Bobbi as a potential love interest? He's becoming protective? *Le gasp* The plot thickens! Well, not really, but you get what I mean.

Oh Bobs, your slowly coming to realize that SOMETHING is going on, but your still being a dummy. *Sighs and pats her head* Don't worry, it'll come to you.

*Ahem* Please, _please _leave me a review with your thoughts! I'll be sure to work on the next chappy! :D Happy Holidays everyone!)


	16. Losing Control

Time- strangely enough- seemed to fly by for Bobbi. She constantly kept herself busy, keeping her thoughts from drifting. In this way, the clock's hands were aloud to move without making the mute twitchy. Before she knew it, Saturday rolled around and she was seeing her partner, Tammy, loaded onto a plane back to the mainland.

Clenching her jaw, Bobbi shoved tears back and hugged the blonde back as she clutched at the tiny woman and bawled. The field medic swallowed thickly, sniffling a little, and patted Tammy's back in comfort. She would miss the loud, obnoxious woman. It would be too quiet and dull without her. The blonde drew back at last, blubbering. It took Bobbi more than a few tries to figure out what the hell she was saying.

"W-Want you to have this…" Sniffling, Tammy managed to finally choke out her blubbered words after close to five minutes of fumbling and weeping. She shoved the very bane of Bobbi's existence into her hands.

That damned alarm clock.

Still, the mute accepted it and clutched it in her hands tightly, feeling herself shake. This thing had been with Tammy for forever. Never once had it left her possession. It was an extension of the blonde, and the meaning behind this gesture was not lost on Bobbi. "Hey! It's time to go! Get loaded up!" The co-pilot poked his head from the plane and yelled over the roar of the engines, sounding impatient.

"I gotta go!" Tammy burst into more tears, and proceeded to squeeze Bobbi again, then Evan, who grunted awkwardly and patted her on the head in an unsure gesture. Finally, she let go, turned on her heel, and practically fled to the plane. Once leaping up and pulling herself in, she swiveled around and waved to them- only to be grabbed and dragged into the plane by some unknown soldier.

The door closed and the plane took off across the tarmac, powerful engines roaring.

Standing side by side, Evan and Bobbi waved towards the plane. They continued to wave and watch, standing there on the tarmac, until it was well out of sight. Evan's hand dropped once it could no longer be seen in the sky, and quietly gazed out after it. In less than a month, he had lost nearly all of his squad. He had most certainly lost all of his close friends.

Bobbi, knowing he wouldn't respond should she try to sign to him or get him to come inside, decided to head in. Surely, she speculated, he would come in after a moment or two. However, when she stepped through those doors, her attention was caught. Gabriel was leaned against the wall, eyes focused intently on the exit, as if waiting.

For a moment, the mute stood there and examined him, waiting to be noticed. When the sniper didn't so much as cast a look in her direction, she twisted her body to fully face him and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

Gabe jumped about a foot in the air before scowling at her furiously, brow furrowed. "What do you want?" The snap was made to be icy and poisonous. But Bobbi had known him long enough to know he was mostly bark and less bite. He didn't mean the tone he spoke in. Besides, she could _hear _the worry that laced through it like vines wrapped around a tree.

Bobbi rolled her eyes blatantly, knowing he couldn't see them due to the helmet perched upon her noggin, and jerked her head towards the door. The Brit huffed, avoiding her eyes, "I was… I'm gettin' there dammit." the growl caused a smile to tug at her lips. Without a word, the field medic started across the room, but noted that the sniper did indeed listen to her silent words of wisdom, and had gone out after Evan.

The two were good for one another. She was happy for them.

With this in mind, the work-a-holic of a woman began looking for something to do to keep her mind from Tammy's absence. When Bobbi found herself outside the med bay doors looking for work after dropping the alarm clock off at her room, a thought occurred to her that made her groan silently in misery.

This meant she would be getting a new roommate. Perhaps, maybe, hopefully they wouldn't snore at the very least. Right?

Sighing without sound, Bobbi raised her hand, and pushed the med bay doors open, brushing the thought away as she did so. Now wasn't the time to bemoan about such things.

Nervousness plagued her insides as she stepped further inside the white room, shutting the somewhat heavy, yet still surprisingly light doors behind her. The field medic scowled at the fluttery feeling in her stomach and chest. Really? She hadn't seen Ratchet since the vent incident a few days prior. Now, she felt unsteady. Off her game. As if someone had pushed her and now she was stumbling.

Stubbornly, Bobbi shoved the feelings down and headed for Ratchet's desk further in. She could feel her stride slowing as she came closer to where he should be. The feelings in her torso region had intensified. The fuck was this? It felt like tiny ravenous piranhas were gnawing at her insides.

Jaw clenched, she stopped in front of the familiar desk. Its worn metal spoke of often use, and the items on it were neatly organized, telling her of the owner's OCD habits. The owner which was currently seated behind said desk. All of this offered a certain degree of comfort to Bobbi, making her relax a little.

"Can I help you?" Ratchet didn't look up from behind the desk. He continued to stare down at a file, brow furrowed as he scanned through the information. The normally gruff, focused voice that belonged to the doctor sounded distracted to her ears. As if he wasn't quite with the real world at the moment, and was instead focusing on something else intently. Bobbi wouldn't have been surprised in the least if he didn't even realize it was her standing at his desk. The thought both amused her, and caused her to feel exasperated.

Smiling a little, the mute reached out and tapped firmly on the edge of the desk, creating a steady thumping noise. As she pulled her hand back, Ratchet lifted his head, a spark of annoyance in his eyes and his mouth twisted downwards in an irritant frown, ready to chew out whoever was at his desk… until he realized who it was. For a moment, his face relaxed and blanked, as if he wasn't sure what to feel.

Then, he carefully closed the file, and leaned forward on his elbows, bracing himself against the desk. "Bobbi." It was a statement more than anything else. A jolt of joy shot through the field medic. They had made some progress, then, if he wasn't calling her by her last name. Right? Yes. She was sure of it.

Ratchet smiled a little at her, seemingly unsure of the situation at hand. As if he didn't want to scare her off with his gruffness. The thought somewhat amused her. If that were the case, she would have been scared off long ago by his rough demeanor. "What can I help you with?" His words brought back her reason for being here, and so the mute straightened her stance and brought her hands up to sign.

Watching his facial expressions, Bobbi began to explain that she wanted something to do. The medic hummed thoughtfully, his eyes drifting around the med bay, as if thinking of what she could do and taking stock of the state things were in. Of course it had to be something light. She was still injured, and _should _be taking it easy.

Subtly, his eyes flicked back to the human female before going back to his med bay. But… he knew all too well the need to have something to do. Besides, it couldn't hurt for her to do something that wasn't strenuous on her. Standing, Ratchet headed over to one side of the med bay. Sensing that she hadn't moved, the doctor stopped and looked over his shoulder at the soldier still standing at his desk, unsure of herself.

"Well? I haven't got all day. Let's go." His grumble made a smile flicker across the mute's face before she turned and followed after him with swift, long strides.

His spark lunged, and Ratchet was quick to turn and start walking again. He would have to figure something out. This couldn't continue. His damned spark was keeping him from doing his normal routine, and it was only getting worse as time passed. Eventually, would he lose control? The thought sent a wave of fear through him. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally scare the human woman striding at his side.

Of course, his spark would _never _hurt her, or allow him to hurt her. But still. He didn't necessarily enjoy the thought of a more primal side of himself being shown to the mute.

Ratchet was broken from his thoughts when his feet stopped moving and he realized he had reached the door to the supply closet in the med bay. Blinking, he focused on the slim, feminine hand being waved in his face.

Looking off to the side to Bobbi, the one waving at his face, he raised an eyebrow. Though he couldn't see the upper half of her face due to that goddamned helmet that he was growing to hate with a boiling passion, he could see the worry from the side of her mouth that was pinched tightly.

Shaking his head, the doctor reached out and opened the door. Bobbi lowered her hand and decided to let it go. For now at least.

"Here." Ratchet flicked on the light and stepped further into the large, Cybertronian sized closet. The oblivious field medic stepped up to his side, looking around with interest. At least, he was fairly sure it was interest. "I need someone to take stock of our medical supplies. How much we have of everything so I know what to order." His grumbling voice was soothing, and helped Bobbi to focus on him and the task at hand rather than the absence of her teammates. She nodded in understanding.

"Take notes on this." The doctor handed her a clipboard with paper and a pencil. Accepting it, the field medic stepped forward to start on the task at hand in the somewhat creepy supply closet. Seriously, it was lit by only one dinky light bulb. Granted, said light bulb was huge, but it was still pretty small compared to the giant supply closet, and light didn't reach all of the corners of the room.

It reminded Bobbi of a horror movie.

"If you need help, call. I'll come give you a hand." Truth be told, Ratchet would much rather work with her then deal with with whiny idiots that were bound to be in, asking for help in the next hour. Still, when she nodded, he turned and left. He still had a job to do, no matter how much he didn't want to do said job.

The moment he stepped outside that door, Bobbi found herself missing his presence sorely. It was as if the warm security blanket wrapped around her had been ripped away. It was annoying and distracting. She didn't like it. Scowling, she shook her head hard and started looking into the amount of rubbing alcohol they had.

Bobbi remained unaware of Ratchet's turbulent thoughts as he sat at his desk, on the other side of the med bay. He leaned on his elbows against the flat surface before him, and cradled his head in his hands. Tomorrow. She would know exactly what he was tomorrow. For some reason, this scared him.

Perhaps it was because she would then know he wasn't human. But that couldn't be it, because that relieved him. If it was one thing Ratchet disliked, it was blatantly lying to someone when he wanted to be closer to them. Lying wasn't the way to go with it, and he knew it. A heavy breath exited through his nose, and suddenly, he felt constricted. Trapped. His human body felt tight; unbearably so.

Clenching his teeth, Ratchet pushed the thought down and opened the folder back up slowly, a headache starting to form behind his temples. Bobbi's picture stared up at him seriously and calmly. Her medical information listed beneath it. Bright blue eyes scanned over it for what seemed like the trillionth time.

Groaning, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. The information on her throat was sketchy at best. The doctors had taken one look at it, jotted down what had happened, and simply deemed that she would never speak again. From what he could see, they hadn't tried much to heal the damage done. That pissed him off.

A doctor's duty was to his patients. To heal them and take care of them. If someone was injured; it was their job to help them.

"Hard day?" The familiar, guttural voice made Ratchet look up from where he had been fuming at the information displayed before him.

"Hmph. An understatement." The doctor's voice was snappy, which was normal to the old friend of his that stood before him, "What do you want Ironhide?"

"To check on an old friend." The warrior grumbled, "Is that so wrong?" the brute of a man crossed his arms and leaned back with a raised eyebrow. His dark, silver tinted, blue eyes focused on the doctor with a calm intensity. Ratchet scoffed in answer. Ironhide didn't just 'check up' on his friends. He got answers.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you." His sarcastic tone made the weapon's specialist roll his eyes at him. With a soft snort, Ironhide's gaze became much more serious, and the weakly playful banter between them dropped. Like an engine block in water.

"Are you going to be okay with this?"

"With what?" Ratchet scowled at him, trying to appear somewhat normal,

"You know what I mean. Don't act ignorant." Ironhide's tone would have been better suited to scolding sparklings.

Ratchet bristled, standing up from his chair so he could meet Ironhide head on. Even if the warrior was taller then him by a couple inches. At least this way he wasn't towering over the doctor. "Why is everyone suddenly interested in my life? First Optimus, now you. I. Will. Be. Fine." The sharp tone made Ironhide's eyes narrow,

"Ratch'. I was only concerned. There's no need to be so defensive."

"I'm not defensive."

"That's defensive." The scarred man pointed a blunt finger at him.

Ratchet threw his hands up, "For Primus's sake! I just want to be left alone!" the irritation at his spark's behavior was making him lash out, and as guilty as it was making him feel, he was finding it hard to reign it in. Taking a deep breath and leaning on his desk, palms flat against it, he spoke in a calmer voice. Deep breaths, he reminded himself, pissing Ironhide off isn't going to help in the least.

"Look. I appreciate the worry. But you don't need to." The doctor focused on his old friend, refusing to apologize, but attempting to keep the other man from getting too angry.

"You've been out of sorts lately. Of course I'm gonna worry. I don't want offlined in my sleep or while on the operating table." As always, Ironhide wouldn't come right out and say he cared. Because that wasn't Ironhide.

Ratchet understood, and scoffed loudly, "I wouldn't do that you numbskull. Now, if you're quite done taking up my time and my med bay space, _get outta my med bay!_" His hand grabbed the nearest tool, and he hefted it up above his head threateningly. Chuckling, Ironhide held up his hands in an 'I'm innocent' gesture, "Alright, alright. No need to get violent now you old coot." Lucky for him, the warrior managed to duck out of the med bay right as the tool smashed into the wall right next to where his head had been.

Grumbling under his breath, Ratchet carefully sat back down and fell silent to his thoughts. Would he be okay? Subconsciously, his eyes tracked over to where the supply closet was, and the woman working within it.

That wasn't his main concern. Would _she _be okay?

Sighing heavily, and feeling ancient, Ratchet picked the file back up. It was just too bad he couldn't focus on it. Instead, he could feel his gaze becoming distant and glazed. His thoughts pulled away from him, and began to center around a certain female. Damn her. She was going to drive him to insanity, he swore it.

When had this all started? Ratchet wished he could pinpoint it. Perhaps, at first, it had been how different her reactions had been towards him that had drawn his attention. Then, had it turned to her hard headedness that had irritated him in ways he didn't think possible? The doctor laid the file down, his eyes on the picture staring up at him.

Maybe it had been how she had been there when he had crumpled from losing someone on the battlefield. A shudder passed through him at the thought. His friend's spark had been right there beneath his servos and- Ratchet shook the thought from his mind and took a deep breath to summon strength to himself. Unbidden, the doctor's mind then turned back to the small human he was analyzing.

Perhaps, in the end, it had been her unyielding strength and simplicity? Or, just maybe, it had been a combination of it all. Groaning, Ratchet rubbed his face with his hands tiredly. His thoughts turned from the subject and onto another track.

She was so small… it would be too easy to hurt her. Her body so frail- his spark _snarled _from his chest at the thought, rattling protectively. The CMO laid his head on the desk and closed his eyes. No, he would never harm her. But the Decepticons, other soldiers, and on the battlefield- his spark lunged desperately. 'Protect-protect-protect-protect-protect-!' somewhat large hands clamped down on the desk's edge firmly to keep himself in place.

And she was _human_. After barely even a Vorn, she would d- Someone snapped their fingers.

In an instant, Ratchet had shot up in his chair, feeling shaky and unsteady. Instead of Ironhide, Optimus, or some other Autobot; Bobbi stood before his desk, looking worriedly at him. Taking several deep breaths, the doctor calmed himself enough to speak. "Is it done?" The clock on the wall to his right told him several hours had passed without his knowledge. Had he really been that deep in thought?

Bobbi, concerned at the doctor's pale visage, nodded and handed the clipboard and pencil over to him. "Thank you." He sounded hoarse, and it made him wince. Ratchet removed his hands from the desk and accepted the items- only to catch sight of what his hands had done to the poor metal.

Dents. Deep, rough, dents. Hoping she hadn't seen, Ratchet leaned forward to subtly hide the marks with his own body. Unable to focus and feeling exhausted with this merry-go-round his thoughts were on, the doctor pretended to look over the listed supplies. "Good, good." He murmured, "Well, you should get some sleep now, its late and you look tired." Bobbi gestured at him with a hand.

"No, I'm alright, don't worry. Go on, I'll take things from here." Knowing pressing the matter would make things worse, the mute reached out and patted his hand- the only way she could at least somewhat comfort him- and headed out the doors to her room without looking back. A pair of blue eyes followed her form tiredly.

Yes, he had agreed to give this a try. But that didn't mean he didn't have his own doubts, or fears. Not to mention, would Bobbi even _want _to try? That was another concern. He couldn't simply assume she would want to. Or that everything was going to be hunky dory. The doctor had no idea what the mute was feeling.

He laid his head back down on the desk and his shoulders slumped. This would be one hell of a dozy. He would have to be careful.

And then there was tomorrow. Yes… tomorrow…

Ratchet wasn't getting any sleep, and he knew it.

(I... am so goddamn sorry. This should have been posted _days _ago. In my defense, things have been hectic. We've been trying to get a refinance on the house, and thus, had to get siding put up, and let weird people come in and examine our living spaces. Needless to say, I was less then pleased that there were _strangers _in my sanctuary.

Like, GET THE FUCK OUT YOU WEIRDOS!

Anyway, this is finished. And in the next chapter... BOBBI LEARNS OF THE AUTOBOTS! Holy shit! FINALLY! *Flips a table*

Review with your thoughts please! I'm sorry if it seems rushed or anything!)


	17. First Meetings

There was something in the air that Bobbi couldn't quite place. Something… electric and nearly dangerous.

It followed her throughout the day, and refused to let her be.

Stranger still, everyone seemed subdued and quiet. The soldiers seemed a little edgy, and the blue eyed males plus Lennox seemed twitchy. It, in turn, set Bobbi into a nervous tick. She couldn't stop her slight fidgeting throughout the day.

It didn't help that even Vladimir seemed more sober, and less… bright and cheery than normal. He seemed even quieter, if that was possible. That in itself was worrisome to the field medic. Though, it did set her a bit at ease to know that Evan and Gabriel were just as confused and lost as she was. Knowing that she wasn't alone was somehow comforting.

Still, the brunette found it hard to focus on her work. So, throughout the entirety of the day, she was out of sorts and had to be repeatedly drawn back to the earth. When this happened, and Bobbi took on the customary glazed over look; Gabriel would clap his hands in front of her face and make her jump backwards away from him, wide eyed. "Jesus Christ Bobs! _Focus!_" His tone was snappy, but the tiny woman didn't take it to heart. He was just jumpy, and she could easily recognize it as such after so many years of working with him.

Nodding sheepishly, she tried her best to do as she was told… but always ended up drifting off again.

And, again, Gabe would bring her back to her senses.

Bobbi was more than happy when the day was finally over… right up until Vlad told her, Gabby, and Evan to report to the main hanger.

"And why should we?" The sniper was indignant, "I have… things… to do." the huff was followed by a sly, slanted look at the computer analyst at his side.

"_Gabriel._" Evan was quick to hiss out an embarrassed rebuff to his partner's look and words, his normally composed face glowing a red color along the cheekbones and tips of his ears.

The Brit only grinned cheekily, earning him a slap to the shoulder.

"Little sniper _will _be there. Or Vlad will _deliver _him there." The giant, unaffected by the behavior displayed, threatened. Gabriel scowled in response. Vladimir didn't utter empty threats. He would do it should his friend decide to try to head back to his room.

"Yeah? Well I don't _work _for your people Vlad! You know full well its just a temporary contract." He lashed out, irritated.

"During contract, little man must listen." The hulking Russian insisted, taking a step closer to him. A stormy look crossed the smaller man's face, but, before things could get violent, Bobbi and Evan stepped between them and pushed them apart. After a few minutes of the mute glaring up at the Russian firmly, and Evan muttering to his significant other, Gabriel stormed off towards the main hanger in an over dramatic fashion.

Sighing, Evan took off after him. "Little sniper has not changed." Vlad commented from above her head, then, seeing as they were leaving his tiny friend behind; the Russian gently turned her around to face after them, and gave her a gentle push. Bobbi stumbled a moment, shot him a sharp look that he could no doubt feel despite not being able to see, and then took off after the two longer legged males.

She cursed the day God decided to make her so small.

It took her a whole two minutes to catch up with her two friends. By that time, they were already in the main hangar, waiting for her. She shot them both disapproving looks, and stopped a few feet from them. They _knew _she had a short stride and wasn't too fast. Evan gave her a sheepish smile, seemingly apologetic. Gabriel, however, was being his normal asshole self and looking around with irritation, completely ignoring his tiny mute friend.

For the hangar was silent, and only the vehicles around them were there to greet them. It was like this for several moments, the silence filled with an occasional murmur from Evan, the sound of shifting feet from Bobbi, or an angry curse from Gabriel.

"Good to see you all again. I suppose you're wondering why you were told to report here?" Lennox's voice made Bobbi jump about a mile in the air, heart stopping briefly with panic. Gabriel inhaled sharply at the sudden voice, and Evan flinched, whirling around to face him. The sassy sniper crossed his arms, pushed his hips to the side so that one stuck out, and simply glowered at the other man who had just entered through the same door they had. Only without any noise.

"It… would be nice to know." The blackette at Bobbi's right sighed. He used his middle finger on his right hand to push the glasses perched on his nose upwards. Lennox sighed through his nose heavily and shifted on his feet. He seemed nervous. Out of place. That, in turn, made Bobbi feel itchy. She flexed her hands experimentally, hoping to dispel some of the unease she felt.

The silence was putting her on edge. Not only that, but the many vehicles that seemed to be pressing in around her wasn't helping at all. Though, that was just her imagination, she knew.

"Well, once Epps gets his happy butt here, I'll explain." The Major seemed all too glad to put whatever this was off. That, in itself, made Bobbi curious. Perhaps this was important if her 'boss' was thrown off his game by it. Widening her stance slightly, she slipped into a loose military posture to wait. To her, this was comfortable thanks to so many years of having to revert back to it.

Many minutes passed. It was so quiet, you could have heard someone swallow in the room, without any hinderance.

At long last, the very late African-American burst through the door, huffing with exertion. If Bobbi had to guess, she'd say that he had run all the way here. "Sorry, sorry!" Epps came to a halting stop at Lennox's side, who looked disappointed, and resolved at the same time. Like a cornered animal knowing it had no choice in a matter.

Epps bent over slightly, focusing on his uneven breathing.

"I'll get to it then. After a month of observing you, we think it may be time to let you in on the real reason N.E.S.T. exists."

"Oh really?" Gabriel was borderline rude, sarcasm coating his voice. Clearly, he wasn't in a good mood. "And what would this little secret be?"

"Have you ever wondered if we were alone in this universe?" The question was out of the blue, and it seemed to rush from Lennox's lips.

He was out of his element, and Bobbi could _feel _his nervousness. His fear of getting something wrong, or that they would react in a bad way. Still, she held her stance. It was better to simply listen, and let things unfurl, then to step in and make a bigger mess of things. Or assume something.

"I suppose so. I mean, who doesn't, or hasn't? The thought of life existing outside of our own is very intriguing in itself." Evan answered before Gabe could, preventing the Brit from severally upsetting someone with his words and tone.

Lennox licked his lips, eyes darting to the flamed semi in the room, as if asking something silently. Bobbi raised an eyebrow.

"We want to ask you all to please keep calm, and hold your questions in until afterwards." Epps, who had finally regained his breath, straightened up and spoke. He seemed a little calmer than Lennox; or maybe he just wanted to get this over with. Whatever the case was, Lennox still looked very grateful for his intervention. "Alright guys! Show 'em what you're made of!" The African-American turned on his heels and yelled to the otherwise empty main hangar. Bobbi looked around, expectant.

Nothing new greeted her eyes.

"What is this? A circus? Really, you all are cra-" Gabriel's irritated scoff was cut off as the vehicles in the hangar began to… _transform_. Metal began to shift, gears began to turn, and a strange noise filled the air around them.

Yelping, he leaped several paces back and away from them, as if to keep them at bay. Evan gaped openly as they grew in size, and took on humanoid forms, stepping back to be at Gabe's side, as if drawing comfort from his boyfriend's nearness.

Bobbi dropped her military stance, feeling herself tense up to bolt. Her mind, instincts, and body screamed for her to _move_. To get away from this new threat. Yet, her feet seemed melted to the floor. She could not have fled, even if she had tried. She had barely registered the fact that she was shaking, when Lennox laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

When all was said and done, they found themselves the targets of several pairs of blue eyes. Well, they weren't eyes, now were they? Bobbi distantly remembered the techie lingo being 'optics', but it was a thought that was barely there.

The fact that the vehicles had turned into _robots _was a little more concerning to the mute. Her eyes traced over them all. Firstly, the largest one, which had more than likely been the flamed semi, if the paint job was anything to go by. Until, her eyes found the feet of what seemed to be the ambulance. Its very presence hummed and spoke of comfort and protection. It felt so… _familiar._

Bobbi took a deep breath.

She was barely aware of the semi speaking, or of Lennox's hand dropping from her shoulder. Even her body felt disconnected and distant as she took three steps forth, and began to look upwards. Her sight trailed over a pair of strong, sturdy metal legs, and higher still, to tapered, handsome hips. As she did, her trembling hands came up to slowly undo the strap holding her helmet in place, and restricting her view.

When it, at last, came loose; she pulled the helmet off firmly and let it drop to her side, resting in her hand loosely.

Short, brown hair spiked up in every direction as a pair of inquisitive, dark eyes finally trailed up over a pair of broad, powerful shoulders… and to a pair of overwhelmingly familiar blue orbs. This time, there was the warmth, but also fear. Fear? Of what? She couldn't place it. Couldn't begin to fathom what was going on in this moment. Her mind whirled and twisted, trying to connect things together. Answers just out of her grasp.

It didn't even register to her that everything had gone silent. That the semi had halted mid-speech to wait until everyone was paying attention. She didn't even notice the several amused and interested gazes focused in her direction.

Slowly, as if terrified of scaring her, the ambulance moved downwards, kneeling before her on one knee. No words were exchanged. For a moment, human and machine simply held still, and watched one another. There was a thunking noise as the helmet hit the floor, and rolled off somewhere behind her. Bobbi's fingers could no longer hold it, as they had gone numb with shock. And though her heart pounded away fiercely in her chest, the mute found herself taking yet another step towards this familiar being.

Hesitantly, a large, strong looking hand was held out to her.

Her own small hands came up to cup the pointer finger of it with wonder. It curved like any other human hand would. Yet it was so much more complex. So… _beautiful_.

This was no 'machine' in the sense that they, as humans, knew it to be. This, was something more. Something great. And Bobbi could feel her heart swelling with this knowledge. She knew this being. Knew him by name, and knew him well.

'Ratchet?'

"Yes, Bobbi?" Those blue eyes, so warm and kind, lit up with something akin to joy as she mouthed his name. A smile, accepting, yet unsure, twisted itself onto her lips. 'This… is you.' The mouthed words were slow, her expression filled with wonder and awe. Yet, human fear also sparked there. The fear of the unknown that every being carries within them. Despite this, though, Bobbi did not turn away. Or run.

She stood and held onto his finger, wondering at the warmth exuding from him. And that; the simple fact that she was pushing back fear in an effort to understand him, to know him, to give him a chance- was monumental to Ratchet.

"Hello, Miss Bellmark. Its nice to finally meet you face to face." At his voice, Bobbi's stomach flipped and her heart seemed to twirl in her chest.

It was… different from that strange human form she was used to. This; his real voice, had a metallic undertone to it, and seemed… huskier? She wasn't sure. Unable to come up with any idea as to what to say, Bobbi simply nodded. Their meeting, though surreal and somewhat distressing, felt satisfying to both of them.

Later, Bobbi would panic, she would let everything settle in, and she would come to grips with it.

For now?

She would simply put all that on hold and just accept this. And that was alright.

Moving slowly, Ratchet reluctantly pulled his hand back, and began to stand again. Though what his friends would know as not wanting to let go, Bobbi misinterpreted as the fear of scaring her, like before. "Bobs." A weak, faint voice managed to pull her back to earth, and her eyes away from the doctor's face.

Gabe was the one to speak, and he held her helmet up with a pale face and a trembling hand. "I… I got your helmet." The choked out words were frail, as if a breeze could sweep them away with a single pass. It was a wonder the sniper hadn't fainted yet. Evan was still staring up with wide, awed eyes. Bobbi wondered, as she unenthusiastically headed back over to them, if he had passed out in that position.

That theory was dashed when she came into range, and he looked to her, his glasses slightly askew on his nose. "Aliens. Robot aliens." Disbelief colored his voice, which had turned high pitch. "Honest to God robot aliens."

Bobbi nodded a little, her own brain failing her as she accepted her helmet from Gabriel and tucked it under her arm. For now, she wanted it off. She didn't want her view to be obscured. She wanted to see this for what it was, for what they truly were. And as she turned back towards them, beside her human companions, she found her gaze drawn, once more, to a certain ambulance.

Ratchet's warm blue gaze didn't leave Bobbi's.

(Firstly: I am SO freaking _sorry!_ This took me FOREVER! The reason? Refinancing on the house, them wanting things fixed up, and being sick. No joke, it's been, quite literally, one thing after another.

Secondly: I'm sorry about the rushed feeling this chapter gives! I can most certainly feel it; and I don't like it! But I've gone over this twenty times- I counted- and still can't figure out how to make it better.

Alright, now that that's out of the way... This chapter ran away with itself. Any thought, or direction I had on this was thrown out the door as Bobbi and Ratchet hijacked the train and recklessly drove it into a goddamn mountain. I was hogtied, tossed in the back, and pulled along for the ride. Damn crazy fictional characters... _

I also believe that _everyone _is at least a _little _afraid of the unknown. Of getting hurt by something bigger then them. So, is it not so far fetched that Bobbi would be somewhat afraid during the meeting? What's important is the fact that she's shoving that fear aside to give it all a chance. That, to me, is true bravery and courage.

So, let me end this note off with a: WE FINALLY GOT THE HOUSE REFINANCED, HOT DAMN FUCKING FINALLY! And I shall get back to you all soon with another chapter!

Please leave me a review with your thoughts! Ta-ta for now!)


	18. An Overdue Talk

Bobbi would admit, she'd heard some crazy shit over the years. The things that came out of her brother's mouths when they were kids had been insane at times.

But this? This was too much. After the whole 'there are alien robots from outer space here on earth and, hey, they also brought a war with 'em, just so you know' piece, she'd fallen into a bit of a daze. Her poor little broken brain was trying its best to keep up, but it just wasn't up to the task at hand. Even as she tried to consume the information, it was beginning to leak away. How was she going to absorb all this?

Raising her hand, shaky though it was, she attempted to rub away the persistent ache behind her left temple. Taking this all in would be difficult, the mute knew. But it was something she would have to come to accept.

After all, it was all part of the job, right? Right. Her job was everything. Never, in a million years, would Bobbi admit that the real reason behind being more open and accepting towards this, was Ratchet's involvement. Even if she had admitted it, regardless if it was just to herself; she truly couldn't come to the reason of _why _behind it. Thus, Bobbi did not admit this to herself, and instead turned her focus back to the real world.

Optimus; the huge fucking semi that she had bypassed so many times before, had fallen silent. Now, he simply regarded them with a deep wisdom and seriousness that sent her mind reeling once more. Though, despite this, the field medic's gaze and thoughts kept returning to Ratchet. Rather than steel the fluttery butterflies and stop the reddening of her face when she was around him, meeting his true form, had, somehow, strengthened these reactions.

A fact that surely sent her into a pit of frustration.

"S-So, is this… all of you?" Gabriel, deeply disturbed by this new information presented to them, gestured vaguely at the 'Autobots'- a strange name, but Bobbi didn't question it- surrounding them. "No. There are many more of us. On this island, around the world, and among the stars." Optimus rumbled deeply, patiently. That was good. He was gonna need that patience to deal with all this.

Bobbi, again, let her eyes flit around the room and over them all, before her gaze locked- again- on Ratchet. Unlike her though, he seemed to have found some form of strength, or maybe he had gotten over his staring, and was now watching his leader. She was envious of his calm, collected attitude, and wished that, she too, could achieve this. As it was, she was failing miserably at it.

What was even more embarrassing to the mute, was the fact that she only knew Optimus and Ratchet by name and face. She had missed the others while staring at a certain alien doctor, and even now couldn't match them to their human personas.

The mute was certain it would be awhile before she stopped kicking herself in the ass for her incompetence.

Gabe's question, however, made her gape up at the huge semi. There were _more _of them? Holy hell. Things were starting to settle in her mind, and Bobbi could feel herself reaching the end of her tether. She was barely aware of Lennox ushering them to their room, or of the fact that he was speaking to them.

His words of comfort were lost on her, and she failed to hear them.

So complete was her state of shock and struggle, that she didn't even notice that Evan had passed out, or that Gabriel had carried the analyst off to his room in a state of blankness. Bobbi didn't remember how she got to her room, nor how she managed to change clothes. The last thing she felt, was her head hitting the pillow.

And then the lights went out.

Come morning, Bobbi had managed to convince herself- with the help of her crazy dream- that _everything _that had happened that evening had all been a part of said insane dream. And so, she pulled her uniform on after showering, scoffing at the thought of Ratchet being a giant alien robot, and stepped out the door… only to stop short.

There, in front of her face, was a huge, silver leg. Metallic in nature, it challenged her previous beliefs with a vengeance. Slowly, her eyes traveled upwards, and she had to reach a hand up to push her helmet back so she could see. Brown orbs made contact with a bright blue visor that was currently focused on her. It was bright and curious, and seemed to fit the smiling face it was attached to.

"Mornin'!" A somewhat familiar voice chirped brightly. Bobbi's lips parted in a gaping 'o', and she felt her world shift. Without her friends to balance her; without Ratchet to calm her… she fell into the darkness that swarmed her vision. Her last thought was being thankful that she had her helmet on. That would, hopefully, prevent a concussion, or severe brain damage, at least. If she didn't have any already, of course.

Time has very little meaning when you're unconscious.

Thus, it was no surprise that Bobbi was unaware of how long she had been out. Rousing and coming to her senses, the mute laid still for a moment, senses on overdrive. From the feel of the bed beneath her, and the itchy sheets, she was in the med bay. Voices, low, deep, and male in nature, drifted over her from somewhere nearby.

"Perhaps it would be best if you spoke with her, old friend. There is much to accept and take in, and she seemed calmer when you-"

"Optimus, she is awake." That was, unmistakably, Ratchet. She would know his voice anywhere. And, it seemed, now they knew she was awake.

Giving up the game, Bobbi opened her eyes and shifted, working to sit up. Instantaneously, a strange tingling feeling washed over her body, making her shiver. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't painful either. Uncomfortable, yes, and strange, but not painful. What _was _that? Disgruntled, the field medic hoped she wouldn't have to feel it again.

Brushing it off and gathering her wits and courage about her, Bobbi lifted her eyes to look at the two beings that had spoke.

Giant. Aliens. Her heart dropped. The robots stared at her quietly, as if gauging her reaction. Bobbi wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. It was simply… impossible. And yet, here was life, laughing in her face as impossible became possible. As what should only be seen in a comic book, was now staring her down with curiosity and wariness, as if she might scream and throw something at them, or panic and run.

Not that she hadn't considered doing one or two of those things, mind you.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Bobbi shut her eyes, no longer protected by her beloved helmet, and counted backwards from ten. 'Ten...' The number was soothing in her mind, familiar as her father had taught her this so many years ago, and had always told her to count when a stressful situation arose.

Large, heavy, metal resounding footsteps came closer. 'Nine… eight...' Someone left the room, the door shutting quietly behind them. 'Seven… six...' The being stopped beside her bed, and began to slowly crouch down to her level. 'Five… four...' A stillness settled about the room as the movement ceased completely. 'Three… two...' Softly, a deep, heavy sigh echoed outwards. Tired and worried. 'One.'

Feeling more prepared, though no less scared and childlike, Bobbi opened her eyes and blinked upwards. Ratchet was squatting beside her bed, his bright blue eyes watching her with a soft look she could not place.

"Bobbi… how do you feel?"

His very voice sent the breath rushing from her lungs in a torrent of wind that pushed past her lips without resistance. Taking a moment to steady herself, she made a so-so motion with her right hand. This was Ratchet. Ratchet was okay. He was safe. She knew Ratchet. He would never hurt her.

At least, not on purpose, she knew.

Somehow, the thought comforted Bobbi, and made her a little more relaxed.

"That's understandable. I know this must come as a huge shock to you, but please know that we mean you no harm. We are here to protect you and your kind." Like always, he was gruff and to the point. Yet there was an ageless patience and kindness there that threatened to swallow her whole with its pure, genuine sincerity. Nodding a little, Bobbi swung herself to the side, legs dangling over the side of the bed. Never once did her eyes leave his.

For a moment, they simply regarded one another with curiosity.

"I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner." The apology had her shaking her head in response. No, it was perfectly understandable. She would have done the same. Ratchet seemed to understand her silent response, and looked relieved. Pride shot through her. The doctor was getting much better at understand her, it seemed.

And then he held his hand, flat with the palm upwards, out to her.

Bobbi stared at it questioningly for several moments before the light-bulb lit up above her head.

Stepping down from the bed, her bare feet met the cool floor for barely a second before she began to hesitantly, slowly climb up onto his palm, shifting all of her weight onto the metal appendage.

After a few minutes of wiggling about, she was able to sit in his hand somewhat comfortably. The mute, once settled, took hold of one of his fingers, wrapping her arms firmly around the digit.

Seeing she was safely in his hand, Ratchet began to stand up to his full height. He did, however, take his time in doing so to avoid damaging the tiny human he had grown so fond of. His spark purred at her closeness, content for the moment.

But he knew it would be very angry once she left. And it would begin to want more after a short time.

As she drew farther from the ground, Bobbi took note of the fact that her boots and helmet were off to the side, stacked where she would have had to walk from the bed to reach them. Ah, well. She could put them on later. For now, she was certain that a talk was overdue with Ratchet. Many questions swarmed around the mute, and she was sure that her friend- was he her friend? Surely he was- would answer them.

The field medic had little choice but to accompany him as Ratchet moved out of the med bay and down the hall. He passed through the main hangar, and then outside, passing by many bots as he did so. It blew Bobbi's mind. There were just so _many_. Where had they come from? Where would they go?

How had they gone unnoticed for so long? How had she not even been suspicious of their camoed forms? Was every vehicle on this damned island one of them? She doubted that she would be able to ask all of her questions in the seemingly small amount of time she had in Ratchet's company.

A shame, really.

But, while she was there, she would ask as many questions as she possibly could. Bobbi held on tightly as Ratchet stepped out of the base, and into the sunlight. As if knowing the sudden light would hurt her eyes, his other hand came up to shield her from it. The mute shot him a grateful look.

Then he started to move again. And for several moments, that was all that transpired. Ratchet walking, and Bobbi clinging to his hand, feeling soothed by his even, swaying steps and warm hand beneath her. He stopped a good ways from the base, sitting down carefully on a very large boulder that didn't even look remotely comfortable. But, then again, maybe it was for him. What did she know?

Very, very little. And Bobbi was keenly aware of that fact.

It was quiet for several minutes. As Ratchet thoughtfully stared at the scenery ahead of them. Questioningly, the tiny human in his palm tapped a finger against the metal there. Startled out of his thoughts, the Cybertronian focused his laser like gaze on the squishy responsible. At her curious look, he took a deep breath, and let it out heavily.

"Where to begin…?" He trailed off, at a loss,

'At the beginning.' Her mouthed words made a small smile appear on his lips. The beginning. But where was that? Ratchet thought a moment as Bobbi settled down in his hand to listen, a smile coming onto her face.

And then it came to him.

"In the beginning, there was the cube…"

(First of all... Over 100 followers?! Holy hell! Guys... I'm honored... really, I am. I _never _even imagined this would get that kind of attention. So thank you. That is a definite boost to my confidence, and you can be assured that I'm going to continue this story.

Secondly, I do believe you all deserve another chapter after the long wait I put you through. So, here it is!

Thirdly, I apologize for any future waits I put you all through. I'm trying to get my _first ever _job, and I'm attempting to get into kendo classes. Because, really, who doesn't want to learn to use the katana?

That being said, _thank you._ All of you. For being with me every step of this amazing journey. I mean it.

I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, please leave me a review with your thoughts on it!)


	19. Bullets To The Aft

When Ratchet had, at last, finished, it was nearly night time. The sun had begun to set, and shadows danced across the land in a taunting way. Bobbi sat absolutely still for several moments, a thoughtful look painted across her face. Things were starting to click into place, thanks to Ratchet's explanation and her keeping calm this time around. Though that was probably also thanks to the doctor.

Panic tended to make you forget things, however.

So, they had come to Earth in search of… this… cube. And the Decepticons followed. In short, this caused the war that had destroyed their planet, Cybertron, to reignite on their world. The thought of Megatron, in the way that Ratchet had described him, being here, on the same planet as her, sent a chill down Bobbi's spine.

"We should head inside, it's getting cold and your coverings won't do much to keep you warm." Ratchet broke the silence that had fallen over them both with a soft murmur, and stood with her cradled in his hand. Bobbi simply nodded in gratitude and curled instinctively closer to his chest where warmth seemed to radiate.

It took every ounce of Ratchet's willpower not to make any noise. The tiny humans was _right_ above his spark. And his spark was lunging in an attempt to embrace her. To get closer.

Reigning himself in tightly and mentally berating himself, the Autobot medic stepped into the base with his precious cargo cradled close to him. He should have taken better protective measurements to keep his spark from reacting in such a way. It was only going to bring them more trouble later down the line if he wasn't careful.

Bobbi tilted her head back, concerned by her friend's quiet demeanor. Perhaps the talk had upset him? It certainly seemed that way. His eyes were dim, so unlike their usual bright glow, and he was holding her closer than normal.

It worried her.

When they came to the med bay, he stopped, and didn't seem to notice that they had arrived. He seemed dazed, as if in a trance. Wanting to help him, the mute lifted her hand, and knocked on his chest firmly, yet gently. Bobbi had no idea how sensitive the metal was, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.

Ratchet startled and jumped slightly, almost making the human in his hands tumble off the side. Thankfully, his hands were slightly cupped, and it kept her from doing so. His fast reflexes were, probably, another reason she didn't roll off. Sending him a warning look, Bobbi clung to his digit just a little tighter. She didn't want to fall. That sounded like it would hurt, and the ground was a long, long ways away.

He shot her an apologetic look before entering the med bay, being far more careful with her.

Once inside, Ratchet knelt by the bed and lowered his hand slowly. When it was resting against the ground solidly, Bobbi climbed down and wobbled for a moment, finding her balance after sitting down on his hand for so long. Large fingers dangled at her side, ready to steady her should she need it.

However, Bobbi was able to right herself without much of an issue. Touched by the kind gesture, though, she reached over and patted the metallic fingers lightly. Ratchet had to suppress the smile twitching at his white lips. The warmth from her touch sent rushes of giddiness to his spark in torrents, a sensation he couldn't stop even if he had wanted to.

He pulled back his hand, certain she didn't need his help for the moment. The mute moved over to her helmet and boots, pulling them on and buckling things into place. Ratchet simply watched her quietly, stewing in his own thoughts. Now, she knew. But how to proceed from here? How did one break something like this to someone else? Especially if that other person happened to be another species, so different from your own?

'Hey, I know we're different species, and we'll be given hell for it, but I'd really like to try and have a relationship with you. Will you be my significant other?' yes, that'd definitely go well.

Ratchet wondered if she'd try to kick him for that.

He was, once again, startled out of his thoughts. Bobbi had leaned up on her tippy-toes, and tapped gently against his chin before resting her hand against him. Since he was kneeling, and crouched down low, it wasn't too hard for her to do so. Blue eyes focused on the small human, bathing her in the bright glowing light they emitted.

Bobbi's breath hitched, caught for a moment somewhere between her throat and her chest. His eyes were warm, yet filled with an ancient, chilling wisdom that came with age. An understanding of things that made her feel like a child.

It was… _incredible_. He, was incredible. And that stole her breath away.

A soft rumble came from the bot she still had skin on metal contact with. It was a comforting, baritone like sound that rolled from deep within his chest. The sound washed over Bobbi, soft and gentle, like warm water. A shiver raced down her spine in response to it. Finally, her breath left her in a soft whoosh, released from its imprisonment.

"You need to head to your room now. Its late." It took Bobbi a moment, in her hazy, befuddled mind, to realize he was speaking to her. She blinked away the glaze that had overtaken her eyes, and refocused forcefully. The mute felt a sinking disappointment at his words once their meaning dawned on her. They had spent the whole day talking, helping her accept this… and now she had to leave?

Goddammit! She shouldn't be feeling so upset about this!

Angry at herself, but careful not to unleash it on Ratchet- he had done her no wrong- she nodded. He carefully drew back into an upright crouch, before reaching out to gently run his pointer finger from the top of her head, down to her lower back.

The movement and touch startled Bobbi; certainly, she was not expecting it, but she leaned back into the touch and felt herself relax. It was a pleasant feeling, though she got the distinct feeling that Ratchet somehow knew she was upset over something, and was attempting to comfort her. Although she wasn't sure, it did warm her heart.

However, all things must eventually come to an end, and it wasn't long before he was drawing back and beginning to stand. "Please try to get a good night's sleep. It's important that you stay healthy." Ratchet's voice was kind and soft; the sound of it made goosebumps rush over the brunette's flesh in a slow, prickly motion.

Bobbi, inspite of this, nodded. In her own, silent way, she bid him goodbye, and left. All too soon, she was back in her room and collapsing on her bed in a tired heap after stripping her uniform off. But the memory of doing so was hazy, her mind in another place, in another time. With Ratchet, out under the sun.

Sleep came quickly, like a fast moving subway train.

Ratchet, on the other hand, was in for another long, sleepless night. With a long, drawn out sigh, knowing what awaited him, he turned and began to perform mindless tasks. The doctor, in all his endless time of being alive, was, not for the first time…

At a loss.

When morning came, the white Cybertronian was still no closer to solving the puzzle of what should be his next move, his nerves were shot to hell, and his processor was fried. Lack of sleep, which he was certain was what he was afflicted with, tended to do such things to people. So, it was no surprise he was a little… twitchy.

And it was certainly no surprise that when the terror twins came in early that morning for repairs; he took his sufferings out on them via his beloved wrench.

Those poor, poor unfortunate souls.

Bobbi, meanwhile, was not awoken from her alarm clock. Instead, she was jarred awake by a large explosion rocking the base's very foundation. The movement threw her from her bed, sending her rolling. Shaky and panicked, eyes fogged with sleep, she stumbled to her feet and braced herself against the wall.

Shit! What the hell was that?!

Within a few moments, it subsided, and the mute was left confused and trembling against the stable wall. Never, in all her time in the military, had something like that happened. Were they under attack? Maybe explosives had gone off in one of the storage rooms? She hoped no one was hurt. Especially not Gabriel, Evan or Vladimir.

Bobbi had to check and make sure they were alright.

Moving quickly, the field medic yanked on her uniform and gear. She was halfway out the door whilst strapping her helmet on when a peculiar noise reached her ears. Several noises, really. It sounded like a lot of yelling… and things being thrown.

They were coming from the med bay. Was Ratchet under attack?!

Bobbi was moving before her brain had fully caught up with her, hand-held gun in hand and loaded. Priorities were listed in her mind in most important order.

Find Ratchet, make sure Ratchet is okay.

Kick ass of whoever is attacking Ratchet.

Check on friends, make sure friends are okay.

Find out what the hell made that earthquake like sensation.

Satisfied, the soldier pushed her legs to carry her to the med bay faster. For some reason, the thought of the Autobot doctor being injured made her heart stutter and threaten to stop. It… hurt. More than it should. The thought pained her more than it would if it were one of her friends. And, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out _why_.

In mere moments, Bobbi was bursting through the large med bay doors, staring down her iron sights with a twitchy trigger finger. The sight that met her eyes both confused and panicked her.

Ratchet had a hold of a yellow and black bot's shoulder, wrench raised above his head and optics nearly white, while a red and black one was off to the side, out of the way and clutching- was that his _arm?!_- to his chest. It only took her a moment to draw the very wrong, very sudden conclusion.

They were the intruders.

Baring her teeth angrily, the mute took aim at the yellow one; and unloaded her magazine into his pompously shiny ass. The effect was immediate, but not the one she expected. "MY PAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNT! MY AFT!" The wailing scream made Bobbi wince. It was so high pitched and… _girly_. Good God, what was _wrong _with him?

At least, she assumed it was a him. He certainly didn't look like he had boobs.

Dropping down to a crouch so she was less of a target, and rolling behind cover; which happened to be a table leg, Bobbi quickly reloaded. She had just snapped everything into place when Ratchet called out to her. "Bobbi! Please put your weapon away and come out. It, uh, isn't what it looks like."

'Isn't what it looks like'? What was it then? Were they not the enemy?

Putting her trust in Ratchet, the brunette put the gun's safety on and sheathed it back in the holster at her thigh. Careful, in case she startled someone into shooting or- heaven forbid- stepping on her, Bobbi stood up and stepped out from behind her cover.

The mustard colored bot was holding his aft, the look on his face was absolutely horrified. Ketchup, however, was bent over double in hysterics. "She shot you in the ass bro! The ass!" Ratchet looked to be holding back his laughter.

All of this only served to confuse Bobbi further.

Clearing his throat, the doctor knelt and extended a hand to her. "Bobbi, would you come here please?" He had barely even finished the question and she was already headed his way. With less hesitation than the day before, the brunette climbed up into his hand, ignoring the other two bots. They didn't seem hostile, in any case.

Besides, she was pretty sure Ratchet would keep her safe.

The doctor stood, lifting her with him, and then held her up to his eye level. Not wanting to fall, Bobbi took up a careful seat in his palm, making eye contact with him. Wanting answers, she began to use sign language to explain herself. The last things she wanted, was to get into trouble. Ratchet watched without a word, not interrupting her, though his lips did twitch on occasion. And was it just her, or did he look exhausted?

Once finished, he shook his head at her. "Bobbi, their not the enemy, though I can see why you would think so, given the circumstances. These bolts-for-brains are Autobots."

The mute stared up at him, dumbfounded. Autobots? But then… why was he attacking them? Frowning, her brow drew into a deep furrow.

Her question must have been on her face, because Ratchet chose to elaborate. "Their dumbafts, and need sense pounded into those thick helms of theirs on occasion." Bobbi continued to stare at him for several moments.

And then the light-bulb flickered on.

She stood, almost too quickly, and nearly fell from his hand. Ratchet's other hand flew up to offer her protection, his eyes widening in panic as she nearly took a dive from the high place he had her held at. Still, she managed to keep her balance and turn to face the other two Autobots. The yellow one was whining over his aft and the new dings it had put in his paint, and the red one; his brother apparently, was on the floor, rolling around and laughing.

Embarrassment heated the mute's face.

She had just attacked her _allies_.

Well… fuck.

Ratchet cleared his throat loudly, eyes narrowing a little. Mr. Mustard looked up, his face still horrified and distressed, and Sir Ketchup began to climb to his feet, body still shaking with the occasional chuckle.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, this is Bobbi. Bobbi, this is dumbaft one, and dumbaft two." The doctor introduced them, his voice borderline sarcastic. Or, perhaps it was. The mute couldn't really tell at the moment. Guilty as hell, Bobbi dropped her head forward in an attempt to express her apologies. She really didn't _mean _to attack her comrade.

It just… sorta happened.

"Oh, don't apologize to him." Ratchet scoffed, waving a hand and seeming to understand what she was doing, "He deserved that."

"I did not! She scratched my paint! Look at that! Two hours of work to get my finish perfect- wasted!"

"Oh hush you damn femme."

Bobbi lifted her head, less confused, but still puzzled. The whole situation was… bizarre.

"There are _bullets_ in my aft!" The soldier winced at the screech that left the yellow one; Sunstreaker, was it?

"Then I guess I'll just have to remove them, now stop your whining!" A clang resounded throughout the med bay as metal wrench made contact with a metal helmet. Sideswipe just shrunk back in his corner, out of the way of the cross-fire and held his dismembered arm to his chest tightly.

Though, he did watch Ratchet and Bobbi with curious, mischievous eyes.

**(AN: Another reader, on my other story, 'Hear Me' said it was hard to tell the note from the story. So, I've decided to use those fancy smancy letters at the beginning AND use bold to separate them.**

**Aren't I so smart?**

**Okay, here's another chapter! In which Bobbi meets the TERROR TWINS! WOOT WOOT! :D Also, shooting people in the ass ****_totally _****makes them your friend! Completely!**

**Right? Right.**

**Dammit Bobs, quit jumpin' the gun. Poor Sunny, he now has bullets shoved up his aft. You must work on your aim, Bobbi.**

**Also! I'm work on my own BOOK as well. Have been for about 6 months. I stopped for a little bit, but now I'm working on it again. It's called 'Project Grapevine' and I hope to publish it some day. So, it may take me a while between uploads. Cause I'll be working on that book too.**

**OKAY! I'm done rattling like a pea in a barrel! :D**

**Leave me with a review with your thoughts? o3o)**


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